THE PRISONER WHO BECAME A NATIONAL HERO

For more than three decades, the fate of Natig Gasimov remained one of the most haunting mysteries of the First Karabakh War in the early 1990s. Remembered as a fearless Azerbaijani volunteer who made a final stand against overwhelming forces, Natig became a symbol of courage, sacrifice and national resilience. Yet behind the iconic photograph of the young captive lay a darker truth waiting to be uncovered. This powerful coffee-table book accompanies the groundbreaking investigative documentary film The Son, retracing Natig’s final days through eyewitness testimony, archival evidence, rare photographs and years of painstaking research. Blending cinematic imagery with personal storytelling, it reveals not only the life of a national hero, but also the devastating human cost of war and the enduring pursuit of truth and justice. At its heart, this is a story of courage, memory and one family’s determination to honour its lost son and to ensure that the truth is never again buried in silence.