Guba, April-May 1918. Documented Pogroms of the Muslims
150
File No.65
Record of Examination
On this 19th 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: Ismayil Kerbelai Mammadtaghy oghlu, aged 7, a
Guba resident, illiterate.
When the Armenians came into town, all our family hid out in the
garden of our grandma Sitara. About 15 Armenians armed with dag-
gers and rifles broke into the place and started shooting, stabbing and
slashing us all. They killed my grandma Sitara, my grandpa Hajiagha,
my father, my sister under aged Soltannisse, my four-year-old brother
Mammadpasha who was an infant, my uncle Heybat and his 5-year-old
son Gasym, uncle Alimardan, uncle Aghababa, aunt Jamilya. My mother
was wounded in her chest but survived. I was stabbed by dagger to
my left shoulder and fell among dead bodies pretending to be dead.
There I stayed for five days, however when the bodies started deca-
ying I could no longer be there, so I went to the street and went to Hajji
Mammadtaghy, our neighbor. My mother stayed among dead bodies
four days. She did not know that I was alive, so she left four days after.
I did not see the Armenians searching the dead bodies, however
later on, I saw turned out pockets and unbuttoned shirts. Everything
was stolen at our home. My dad was a barber, so we were living on
what he earned. Now my mom and I have nothing left, so our only
donkey is feeding us. I have nothing else to add..
Read aloud to the witness
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.58-58(rev.)