127

To add to this, the Armenians told me personally that from now

on (i.e. during the described events) they were our God.

Read aloud and signed in Arabic characters

Translated by E.Khanbudaghov (certified by a signature)

Signed by A.Novatski, the member of the Commission

Reference:

SARA, f.1061, op.1, d.96, ll.22-23

File No.51

Record of Examination

On this 13

day of December, 1918, in Guba

Novatski, the member of the Ad Hoc Investigation Commission

established by the Government of Azerbaijan, examined the following

person as a witness, pursuant to the Criminal Court Regulations:

Witness: Kerbelai Abuzar Mastan oghlu, aged 60, a Guba

resident, illiterate.

This year in spring the talks were spread out in Guba that the

Armenians were on their way to the town. I paid little attention to that

as reportedly this was a group of 25 Armenians, and they will not hurt

anyone. One day, full of a sudden, some 30 Armenians armed with

rifles, daggers and revolvers flooded into our courtyard. My neighbor,

Abdulla Tulugchu, stepped towards them to ask what they need. They

opened fire in response, so he fell down dead.

Myself, my wife Hekuma daughter of Kerbelai Jafar and two

daughters, Hekuma, 14, and Busra, 6, were enjoying tea at our home

when the Armenians broke in and started volleying fire at us. My

daughter Hekuma was killed on the spot, I got an injured left shin,

whereas my wife was wounded in her left wrist and Busra in her left

shoulder and leg. My wife grabbed and embosomed her. One of the

Armenians got a dagger and slashed Busra’s face all the way to the

throat, so she fell down dead. My wife and myself fainted from the

shock, however once my wife recovered she started imploring the Ar-

menians to kill her too, so that she won’t see her daughters dead. The

Armenians responded that they will not kill her just for one reason,

as they wanted her to die thrice a day watching her daughters’ dead

bodies. They slightly stabbed her neck with a bayonet causing some

Documents on the Devastation of Guba

Witness Testimonies of Residents of the Town of Guba