Today is the birthday of the National Hero of Azerbaijan, a civil and military journalist Chingiz Mustafayev who made a significant contribution to the development of national television.
After finishing secondary school № 167 in Yasamal district in 1977, he entered the Azerbaijan Medical University. He graduated from the University in 1983, worked for three years as a doctor in Shabran, and eventually occupied the position of the head doctor of the resort at the Institute of Civil Engineers.
He collaborated with several foreign news agencies. He was the author of many reports from the war zone in Nagorno-Karabakh, including the famous reportage from the Khojaly massacre scene.
The public first saw the reporter's talent from his video materials, filmed during the bloody events of January 1990. C. Mustafayev interviewed famous people of the Soviet Union - Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, Nursultan Nazarbayev, Ayaz Mutalibov, Raisa Gorbacheva, Galina Starovoitova and others.
With the outbreak of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh, Chingiz devoted himself entirely to military journalism. 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 – preparation of bodies for sending to Agdam by helicopters.
Chingiz repeatedly traveled to the war zone, filmed fighting in Karabakh, interviewed soldiers. He filmed an open gunfight between the armed forces of the opposing sides. There are videos in which Chingiz encourages fighters to return to Shusha occupied by Armenians with a hoarse voice.
On June 15, 1992, during the fierce fighting in the village Nakhichevanik (Nakhchivanli) of Nagorno-Karabakh Chingiz Mustafayev was mortally wounded on land mine 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.