Armenia Has Grounds to Believe Azerbaijan Has Also Captured Unknown Number of Other Individuals: Lawyer

During the hearing of Armenia's complaint against Azerbaijan at the International Court of Justice, Armenia's representative, Professor Elis Macdonald, stated that the scale of emigration of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh and the extent of damage incurred are massive.

According to him, the situation is tragic; people have left their historical homeland in just a few days. "Think about what they have gone through. They have lost everything—homes, history, their ancestors' homeland," he said, discussing the suffering of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Macdonald noted that the latest attack was unexpected: "It is evident that this was Azerbaijan's plan." He asserted that Azerbaijan is continuously violating their rights, absorbing Nagorno-Karabakh in every sense, and destroying the Armenian identity of the region to exclude the possibility of the Armenians' return.

The lawyer mentioned that Azerbaijan has compiled a list of 300 wanted individuals whom they wish to arrest. He reminded the court about the arrest of former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh: "Eight high-ranking officials from Nagorno-Karabakh have been arrested on fabricated charges. Aliyev portrays the elected representatives of the Armenian population as a 'junta' and prevents them from meeting with international organizations, including representatives of the ICRC. Armenia has grounds to believe that Azerbaijan has also captured an unknown number of other individuals."

According to the lawyer, Azerbaijan, whose president boasts about expelling Armenians like dogs, asks the International Court of Justice to believe its claims of willingness to protect Armenians: "He has starved them for 9 months, yet now he is ready to protect them."