Will Armenia Appeal to the International Criminal Court Based on Today's Provocation? Yeghishe Kirakosyan Clarifies

The provocation carried out by Azerbaijani forces towards the Armenian positions in the village of Nerqin Hand in Syunik region, resulting in 4 dead and 1 wounded on the Armenian side, falls under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, according to Yeghishe Kirakosyan, Armenia's representative for international legal matters. He stated in an interview with Public Television that their team is currently examining today’s events to determine what classification should be assigned to the incident—whether it constitutes a war crime or something else.

“In September 2022, the Azerbaijanis executed unarmed soldiers who had laid down their weapons near Lake Sevan, which was clearly a war crime. Regarding this incident, we need to ascertain what classification should be given. I do not want to rush to conclusions, but if there are grounds to qualify it as a war crime, then yes, the Court's jurisdiction can indeed apply. The jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court is more explicitly applicable to other incidents as well—such as the forced displacement of our compatriots from Nagorno-Karabakh, which is clearly a crime, in which case I believe the Court's jurisdiction is active,” Kirakosyan noted.