Azerbaijan marks birthday of National Hero Chingiz Mustafayev

Today is the birthday of the National Hero of Azerbaijan, civil and military journalist Chingiz Mustafayev, author of many reports from the war zone in Karabakh, including the famous reportage from the site of the Khojaly massacre.

Chingiz Mustafayev was born on August 29, 1960, in the Akhtubinsky district of Astrakhan region, Caliber.Az reports.

In 1964 he moved with his family to Baku. After graduating from secondary school #167 in Yasamal district in 1977, he entered Azerbaijan Medical University.

Having established the Jangi Association in 1985, he became a leader of the Azerbaijani youth. It was the first mature manifestation in Azerbaijan of the perestroika process which had begun in the Soviet Union. Through his activities in Azerbaijan's cultural and social life, Chingiz Mustafayev became a leader-reformer and innovator.

Following the outbreak of Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan, Chingiz turned to journalism. Since 1991, he has been a reporter for the Azerbaijani State Television. Chingiz's reports on the realities of Azerbaijan under blockade were shown by leading television agencies and channels in America and Europe.

Despite the real threat to his life, he filmed the Khojaly massacre's consequences, which occurred on the night of February 26, 1992.

The footage, taken from a helicopter by Chingiz Mustafayev, features the randomly scattered bodies shot in Khojaly. He was shooting some of the bodies - mostly children, women, and older people, and then – preparing of bodies for sending to Aghdam by helicopters.

Chingiz repeatedly traveled to the war zone, filmed fighting in Karabakh, and interviewed soldiers. He filmed an open gunfight between the armed forces of the opposing sides. Video footage was left showing Chingiz with a hoarse voice encouraging the fighters to return to Shusha, which had been occupied by the Armenians.

On June 15, 1992, during the fierce fighting in the village Nakhichevanik (Nakhchivanli), Chingiz Mustafayev was mortally wounded by a landmine explosion while trying to capture the onset of the Azerbaijani army. The camera continued to shoot at that moment.

By the Decree of the President of Azerbaijan on November 6, 1992, Chingiz Mustafayev was posthumously awarded the National Hero of Azerbaijan title.

Chingiz Mustafayev is buried in the Alley of Martyrs in Baku.