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THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A quality authorities statement representing taste Armenians submitted grounds to nan International Criminal Court connected Thursday, arguing that Azerbaijan is committing an ongoing genocide against them.
Azerbaijan’s authorities didn't instantly remark connected nan accusations. The neighboring countries person been astatine likelihood for decades complete nan disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, and are already facing disconnected successful a abstracted ineligible lawsuit stemming from that conflict.
AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIA EXCHANGE BLAME AFTER DEADLY BORDER SKIRMISH
Lawyers for nan California-based Center for Truth and Justice, aliases CFTJ, opportunity location is capable grounds to unfastened a general investigation into Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and different apical leaders for genocide. They person submitted a alleged Article 15 connection urging nan court’s main charismatic Karim Khan to look into alleged atrocities.
Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh beryllium aft arriving successful Armenias Goris successful Syunik region, Armenia, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. A quality authorities statement representing taste Armenians has submitted grounds to nan International Criminal Court arguing that Azerbaijan is committing an ongoing genocide against them. (Vasily Krestyaninov/AP Photo)
Khan’s agency will now see nan grounds submitted and find if nan tribunal will unfastened an investigation, a determination expected to return months.
"My extremity present is to get nan highest bodies that protect quality authorities to return immoderate action, not conscionable specified words," Lala Abgaryan, whose sister Gayane was killed by Azerbaijani soldiers successful 2022, told The Associated Press.
Her sister’s assemblage was severely mutilated and images of nan maltreatment were dispersed online. Abgaryan says nan pictures were truthful heinous that she suffered psychological harm aft looking astatine them.
Long-standing tensions betwixt Armenia and Azerbaijan erupted successful 2020 into a warfare complete Nagorno-Karabakh that near much than 6,600 group dead. The region is wrong Azerbaijan but had been nether nan power of taste Armenian forces since nan extremity of a separatist warfare successful 1994.
Last year, pursuing a lightning subject campaign, Azerbaijan retook nan disputed territory. After Azerbaijan regained afloat power of Karabakh, which had a organization of astir 120,000, much than 100,000 of nan region’s taste Armenians fled, though Azerbaijan said they were invited to enactment and promised their quality authorities would beryllium ensured.
Prior to Azerbaijan’s offensive, Armenia and erstwhile International Criminal Court main charismatic Luis Moreno Ocampo accused Azerbaijan of committing genocide by creating conditions aimed astatine destroying Karabakh Armenians arsenic a group.
A group of astir 30 group gathered successful nan rainfall successful beforehand of The Hague-based tribunal Thursday to manus complete much than 100 pages of documents.
The authorities statement said it has submitted a dossier of grounds containing nan grounds of much than 500 victims and witnesses.
"These atrocities are captured connected societal media, by Azerbaijani soldiers themselves, wherever you perceive them laughing, making comments, and taking nan dormant bodies that they’ve conscionable slaughtered and beheaded," CFTJ leader Gassia Apkaria told nan AP.
Legal experts opportunity that genocide whitethorn beryllium retired of scope for nan court. Armenia is simply a personnel of nan ICC, but Azerbaijan isn't, leaving prosecutors pinch jurisdiction only complete crimes committed connected Armenian territory. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized arsenic portion of Azerbaijan.
Forcing astir nan full organization to relocate to Armenia, however, could autumn wrong nan court’s remit. Deportation is considered a crime against humanity.
"There is nary measurement this was an exodus by chance," says Mel O’Brien, an subordinate professor of world rule astatine nan University of Western Australia and genocide expert.
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The tribunal has moved guardant pinch an investigation nether akin circumstances into imaginable crimes committed by Myanmar against nan Rohingya number group. While Myanmar isn't a personnel state, neighboring Bangladesh is and astir 750,000 group person fled crossed nan separator aft being forced from their homes.
The CFTJ’s petition came amid 2 weeks of proceedings betwixt Armenia and Azerbaijan astatine different world tribunal successful The Hague. The United Nations' apical court, nan International Court of Justice, is proceeding arguments related to a brace of cases stemming from nan conflict. Each state has accused nan different of violating a group favoritism treaty.
