In July 2014, three ethnic Azerbaijanis crossed Nagorno-Karabakh Line of Contact in to Kalbajar District, then controlled by breakaway Republic of Artsakh forces.
[1] Before the July 2014 incident, Asgarov lived and worked in Russia, cutting trees and selling wood, coming home only infrequently to see his family.
In a video made by Asgarov during his 2007 trip to Kalbajar, he and Guliyev can be seen armed with AK machine guns with silencers, confiscated from them after their capture by Artsakh authorities in 2014.
[1] On June 29, 2014, Dilgam Asgarov, Shahbaz Guliyev, and Hasan Hasanov crossed the Nagorno-Karabakh Line of Contact into the Kalbajar District.
Asgarov states in the video that they have come to teach Hasanov about the area and calls on Azerbaijani soldiers not to be afraid to cross into Kalbajar.
According to the Armenian authorities, Asgarov, who allegedly shot the video, can be heard saying that they had captured a "piglet", adding that he was about 20 years old and couldn't speak Azerbaijani, and that they could not release him because he would denounce them.
Smbat Tsakanyan's body was found on July 15 in a forested area between Kalbajar and Sinigkilsa; the Armenian authorities determined the cause of his death to be multiple gunshot wounds.
[5] The Armenian authorities claim the three were performing reconnaissance operations in the area "on orders from Azerbaijan’s intelligence service," then kidnapped and killed the 17-year-old Smbat Tsakanyan.
[16] After the ceasefire agreement, as a result of negotiations with the participation of international organizations and the Russian Peacekeeping Command, Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to exchange prisoners and hostages.
[16] According to the president of the Republic of Artsakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, the decision to return Asgarov and Guliyev was made with the consent of the parents of Smbat Tsakanyan.
[17] In 2020 interview, Asgarov stated that he was subjected to "immeasurable torture" during his imprisonment, adding "the Armenian captors constantly abused his body, as well as his hands and nails" and that "was poorly fed" throughout the years.