European Court of Human Rights Rejects Claims Against Azerbaijan Post-April War

According to the "Zhoghovurd" newspaper, following the April 2016 four-day war, Armenia submitted nearly 700 applications to the European Court of Human Rights regarding atrocities, torture, and violations of property rights by Azerbaijanis against Armenians. Recently, the newspaper has received information from Strasbourg that the European Court has issued dismissal decisions regarding several complaints related to the April 2016 events.

Specifically, this concerns Armenia's case titled "Khudunts v. Azerbaijan". The European Court deemed the complaints presented by the applicants as inadmissible. Notably, the reason for the inadmissibility or rejection of this particular claim was that the applicants, in this case, failed to substantiate their claims and prove them with evidence.

Who are the authors of these claims? Among them are Ara Ghazaryan, former human rights defender of Artsakh Ruben Melikyan, Artak Zeynalyan, who is now the Minister of Justice of Armenia, lawyers, and human rights activists. Additionally, a key figure in this process is the representative of Armenia at the ECHR, Artak Gasparyan, who must advocate for our interests at all costs.

Why did we lose at the European Court, and why could we not substantiate our claims? In response to these questions from "Zhoghovurd" newspaper, co-author of the claims and current Armenian Minister of Justice Artak Zeynalyan stated, "It's not so straightforward to say that the claim was rejected. It was not accepted for examination. At the admissibility stage, this matter was resolved, and legal positions and assessments were given."

However, if you cannot substantiate the evident aggression from April in international forums, how can you ensure a justice atmosphere in our country? When asked this, Zeynalyan replied, "You are being very blunt." Indeed, because this defeat at the ECHR is ours; these are not merely private grievances.

For more details, refer to today's issue of the newspaper.