Azerbaijan Files Inter-State Complaint Against Armenia at ECHR: What Are They Demanding? "Zhoghovurd"

According to the "Zhoghovurd" newspaper, Azerbaijan has filed an inter-state complaint against Armenia at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) regarding the violations of the rights and freedoms of its citizens affected by the war.

As reported by Azerbaijani media, the complaint was submitted on January 15 and was prepared by well-known experts in international law and Azerbaijani lawyers. The complaint presents evidence of violations of the rights of Azerbaijani citizens.

In the complaint, which is submitted on behalf of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, it is noted that there are a large number of landmines in the areas previously “occupied” by Armenia, that Azerbaijani villages and cities have been reduced to rubble, and that “due to the presence of illegal armed forces, Azerbaijani citizens are deprived of their opportunity to return to their homes.”

The "Zhoghovurd" newspaper had already published a report on November 21, raising alarms that the Azerbaijani side is talking about $50 billion in compensation, an astronomical figure for Armenia. Moreover, the representative of the Human Rights International Committee in Azerbaijan, Kochin Ahundzade, even suggested that in exchange for that amount, the Armenian side could offer Zangezur.

Additionally, a Turkish television channel had aired similar content on December 8, again demanding Zangezur in exchange for money, stating that the Turkish Prosecutor’s Office had assessed the damages caused to Azerbaijan by Armenia at $820 million.

Furthermore, two years ago, former Armenian Prosecutor General Gevorg Kostanyan had alerted through the "Zhoghovurd" newspaper that, according to his information, the Azerbaijani government was hiring lawyers in various European countries to calculate the damages caused by Armenia to Azerbaijan and organize compensation efforts, but in Armenia, very few responded to this alarm.

Now, the content of the November 9 statement has given Azerbaijan a legal basis to file a compensation claim against Armenia, which they have already officially done.

It is noteworthy that while the press and various figures were raising concerns about Azerbaijan's potential actions, Armenia’s representative at the European Court of Human Rights, Yeghishe Kirakosyan, was stating that only Gevorg Kostanyan spoke of such a complaint.

Moreover, Kirakosyan also announced on January 16, 2021, that the Armenian side was also preparing to submit an application to the ECHR. Thus, while the Armenian side was preparing to submit such an application, the Azerbaijani side has already taken a step ahead and has submitted a similar application.

As to why Azerbaijan moved ahead again, the Armenian side has not been able to provide comments. Yesterday, Kirakosyan did not respond to our phone calls to understand what he has been occupied with these days.

Thus, just as the country was preparing for war back in June, when the Chief of Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces Onik Gasparyan had reported in writing that a large-scale war was expected with the involvement of Turkey, legal and diplomatic figures are slowly preparing to defend against Azerbaijan's legal assaults, often bouncing back with half-steps and too late, which will inevitably lead to defeat again.