Baku Will Attempt to Justify Its Crimes in the War: Siranush Sahakyan

Azerbaijan will try to justify the crimes it committed against Armenians during the 2020 war by presenting alleged crimes committed by Armenians in the 1990s, said Siranush Sahakyan, a lawyer representing Armenian prisoners of war at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), in an interview with NEWS.am.

It should be noted that on February 1, the Armenian government filed an inter-state complaint against Azerbaijan for violations of the convention during the 44-day war and the subsequent period. Azerbaijan has also filed a complaint against Armenia.

"The ECHR will examine the subject of each complaint, the justifications, and the evidence, and will issue a decision. Moreover, we do not rule out that some of the raised issues may not be accepted for consideration. Issues that are accepted for consideration may also be noted as having no violations. Such a probability exists regarding the claims of both countries.

Azerbaijan's complaint is risky. The European Court has time limitations and cannot discuss violations that occurred before the ratification of the convention by the states, unless there is an exception for the continuous nature of such violations. If the Azerbaijani side raises issues from the 1990s, most of which are at the level of assumptions, they must also substantiate how these issues are within the jurisdiction of the European Court regarding the timeline. If they cannot resolve this issue, the complaint cannot even be considered acceptable.

Armenia's complaint against Azerbaijan pertains to the 2020 war, while Azerbaijan's presented complaint seeks to present alleged violations that occurred prior to the ratification of the convention," Sahakyan noted.

Addressing the additional extensive evidence that will be sent to the ECHR to support the already submitted claims, Sahakyan stated that both Armenia and Azerbaijan must meet certain procedural requirements for the complaint to be recognized as acceptable.

"If the complaint is recognized as acceptable, then both sides must present serious justifications and evidence that will testify to the violations. If they can convincingly substantiate violations with legal arguments and evidence, they will receive verdicts that acknowledge the violations. These will be followed by fair compensation for the violations. The outcome of the case will greatly depend on the evidence presented by the parties," she said.

When asked whether Azerbaijan would be able to present solid evidence to the court, Siranush Sahakyan replied: "In recent developments, the international community has witnessed one-sided violations. Azerbaijan unilaterally committed war crimes against Armenians. There were no crimes committed by the Armenian side against Azerbaijan during this war. Azerbaijan's only option is to revive previously exploited theses and equate them with their own. It is in this context that Azerbaijan will attempt to justify its 2020 crimes with alleged crimes committed by Armenians in the 1990s."