27 years ago, in January 1991, correspondent of the Youth of Azerbaijan newspaper Salatyn Askerova and accompanying her Soviet officers died on the Lachin-Shusha road. Their deaths shocked society - the Soviet Union had not collapsed yet, there was no concept of the hot spots in the country, and it seemed that smoldering conflicts would never emerge into armed confrontation.
When the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh began to unfold, Salatyn Askerova, a petrochemical engineer by training and a reporter by choice, reported from a combat zone. Having Karabakh roots, she considered this place her homeland and assured everyone that nothing terrible could happen on her native land. Salatyn’s parents dissuade her from the last trip to Karabakh, her six-year-old son begged to stay at home, but she considered it her duty to report the truth about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to the world community. "If not me, then who?" - Salatyn replied to the persuasion not to go to the front zone.
On January 9, 1991, she was driving from Lachin district to Shusha with Lieutenant Colonel of the Soviet Army Oleg Larionov, Major Igor Ivanov and Sergeant Ivan Goyek. On the road, the officers and journalist were ambushed. The enemies shoot them point-blank with assault and sniper rifles from two directions.
They were followed by a car, driven by a long-distance truck driver Sohbet Sevdimaliyev, who witnessed the execution. "They went ahead, and we followed them. They drove up to a place called Galadyaryasi, there was a bridge. It was about 30 meters to the bridge when three Armenian bandits came out and began shelling. The shelling was also conducted from the mountains. I did not lose my head and switched into reverse gear, drove off about 50 meters. After jumping out, we lay down under the metal body of the car, the shelling was conducted for a very long time .. and suddenly there was a sharp silence.’’
Askerova, Ivanov and Goyek were killed almost immediately, and wounded Colonel Larionov managed to jump out of the car and fired back in defense. The militants approached the wounded officer and shot him dead. Later, only ten cartridges were found in his two magazine cases, and there were 113 bullet holes in the car.
Sohbet Sevdimaliyev says that the Galadyaryasi area was always considered dangerous - Armenian militants often ambushed on this road.
The resonant case of Salatyn Askerova and three Soviet soldiers’ murders was sent to court in late 1991. The criminals were found and arrested. In 1993, Arno Mkrtchyan, Hrachik Petrosyan, Arvid Mangasaryan and Gagik Arustamyan were sentenced to death. Artashes Mkrtchyan, Artur Zakharyan, Anvel Sargsyan, and Enok Osipyan were sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. Another criminal Garagen Grigoryan was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
Three years later, the Azerbaijani side decided to exchange convicted Armenian militants for peaceful Azerbaijani citizens taken hostage. The Armenian authorities pledged that the killers of the journalist and the Soviet officers would continue serving their sentences for the crime they committed, but after a while, they were released. Thus, the Armenian authorities justified the killers of the officers and a reporter, although the status of journalists in hot spots is mentioned in the Geneva Convention - "journalists who are on dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict are considered as civilians." Like all civilians, reporters are not subject to military discipline and should not be the target for attack or reprisal by either side of the conflict. Probably, these provisions were considered a lip-service by Yerevan.
But Azerbaijan honors the memory of the dead. The streets in Ganja are named after killed servicemen, and one of Baku’s streets is named after Salatyn Askerova. She was posthumously awarded the title of National Hero of Azerbaijan. Today, many people come to to the Alley of Martyrs to pay tribute to the fearless journalist. Here you can often meet her son Jeyhun, who, of course, also became a journalist.
