ECHR TO HOLD HEARING ON COMPLAINT FILED BY ARMENIAN FAMILY AGAINST AZERBAIJAN
PanARMENIAN.Net
August 25, 2010 – 13:40 AMT 08:40 GMT
In recent years, Armenian-Americans have filed several lawsuits in
U.S. courts against insurance companies, banks, and the Republic of
Turkey, seeking compensation for losses stemming from the Genocide
of 1915, Harut Sassounian, Publisher of The California Courier writes
in an article titled “Complaint against Azerbaijan in European Court
Could Have Grave Consequences”
The article goes on:
“For the first time, on September 15, the European Court of Human
Rights (ECHR) will hold a hearing on a complaint filed by an Armenian
family against the Republic of Azerbaijan for damages suffered during
the Karabagh (Artsakh) conflict. Remarkably, the ECHR will consider
on the same day a similar complaint brought by several Azeris against
the Republic of Armenia (Chiragov and others vs. Armenia).
Minas Sargsyan, a former resident of Gulistan in the Shahumyan region,
north of Artsakh, filed a complaint on August 11, 2006, regarding the
destruction of his house and eviction from his property. Sargsyan
stated in his complaint that someone else, presumably an Azeri, is
now living in his house. Although Sargsyan passed away a year ago,
his widow and two children are continuing to pursue the case. Due to a
backlog, the ECHR normally takes several years before it hears a case.
The Sargsyan family is represented before the Court by attorneys
Narine Gasparyan and Knarik Ohanyan of Yerevan (members of the Legal
Guide NGO), and well known human rights lawyer Prof. Philip Leach
representing the European Human Rights Advocacy Center in London.
The Shahumyan region is situated on the northern border of the former
Nagorno-Karabagh Autonomous Oblast, as it was known in Soviet times.
More than 80% of Shahumyan was inhabited by Armenians prior to the
Artsakh conflict. In June 1992, when the Azerbaijani forces bombed
Gulistan, Sargsyans’ two-storey house was destroyed. As a result,
the entire population of the village fled fearing for their lives,
according to the “Statement of Facts,” summarized by the ECHR.
Sargsyan’s complaint is based on the following claims:
1. The destruction of his house and eviction from his property
constituted “a violation of his right to peaceful enjoyment of
his possessions.” 2. Infringement on his right to a private and
family life and to his home because of his forced displacement and
Azerbaijan’s continuing refusal to allow him access to his home
and belongings. 3. In view of the demolition or vandalism of several
Armenian cemeteries in Azerbaijan, Sargsyan stated that he was unaware
of the condition of the cemetery of his close relatives and that he
was deprived of the possibility of visiting their graves, which he
had done regularly in the past. The mere fact of knowing that the
graves of his relatives were under the risk of being destroyed caused
Sargsyan severe suffering and distress. The inability to visit the
cemetery deprived him of spiritual communication with his deceased
relatives, as visiting and maintaining his relatives’ graves was a
religious duty that he fulfilled before his eviction. 4. There are
no effective remedies available to ethnic Armenians who were forced
to leave their homes in Azerbaijan. Armenians who had sought to lodge
complaints with relevant Azerbaijani authorities were unable to obtain
any redress for the violation of their rights. Due to the unresolved
status of the Artsakh conflict, there were practical difficulties
and obstacles for gaining direct access to any remedies available
in Azerbaijan. 5. Sargsyan complained that he had been subjected
to discrimination in Azerbaijan, based on his ethnic and religious
affiliation. He submitted that only ethnic Armenians living in
Azerbaijan had been targets of violence, pogroms, and attacks. The
Government of Azerbaijan failed to investigate violence against
Armenians and to provide redress for the illegal occupation of their
properties and the destruction of Armenian cemeteries.
This is the first Armenian complaint lodged with the ECHR for
violations of property rights, among others, by the Republic of
Azerbaijan. If successful, it will set an important precedent for
claims by hundreds of thousands of Armenians who were forced to
abandon their properties in Baku and other parts of Azerbaijan.
Similarly, the Chiragov complaint lodged against Armenia could open
the door for demands by hundreds of thousands of Azeris who left
their homes during the Artsakh conflict. In contrast to the Armenian
case, however, most Azeris left at their own free will and sold their
properties prior to their departure.
It cannot be a mere coincidence that the Armenian and Azeri complaints
are set to be heard by the Grand Chamber of the ECHR on the same day.
If the Court finds a violation of property rights in these two cases,
and orders monetary compensation to the applicants, this would likely
lead to many similar cases being filed in the future, which could have
far-reaching consequences for the economies of Armenia and Azerbaijan,
amounting to billions of dollars. Alternatively, the Court could
mandate that both countries allow their respective citizens to return
to their former homes, which could create new upheavals and security
risks in the region. As members of the Council of Europe, Armenia
and Azerbaijan are obligated to comply with the decision of the Court.
Both hearings could be followed live on September 15, on the Court’s
website: The Azeri complaint will be broadcast
at 9:15 a.m., while the Armenian one is set for 2:30 p.m. (French
time).”
From: A. Papazian
www.echr.coe.int/echr.