Author: Emil Lazarian

YEREVAN. – Past daily of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes: In recent times, we have been witnessing how the Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] authorities oppose, at certain intervals, the concessionary actions and various initiatives of the RA authorities.

There was a similar situation also recently—related to the Berdzor [(Lachin)] corridor issue. (…) the authorities of Armenia "washed [their] hands" of this issue once and for all and directed all vectors in the direction of the Russian peacekeepers [in Artsakh].

Moreover, according to Past newspaper’s information, the RA authorities are creating centers of fight against the local authorities in Artsakh, which carry out actions at various frequency. According to our source, [Armenia PM Nikol] Pashinyan's teammates are attempting to also create anti-Russian sentiments in Artsakh. It is noteworthy that the anti-Russianness being circulated in Artsakh is spreading widely, especially on platforms with Western funding.

Robert Ghukasyan, the governor of Armenia’s Syunik Province, also joined the tour of the houses of people who have moved from Berdzor town and Aghavno village of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) to Syunik.

He visited such families who have now settled in Karahunj village, talked with them, inquired about their living conditions, and heard about their problems, the Syunik provincial hall informs Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The employees of the Syunik provincial hall have started to respond to the problems recorded so far; necessary household appliances were delivered to Goris city and allocated to families as needed.

"The process will continue," the Syunik provincial hall added on Facebook.

Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan proposes reinstating the death penalty in Armenia. According to him, the study of materials with cases of high treason recorded during and after the 44-day war proves that encroachments on state security make the issue of tightening punitive policy regarding this type of crimes a priority.

Lawyer Mihran Poghosyan told NEWS.am that, for example, Armenian citizens, he said, would no longer be able to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

"To envisage the death penalty for treason without making the issue of who investigates these treason cases, whether they have enough professionalism to be able to solve all this, who will sentence a person to life imprisonment? I can't agree with the thought that a judge like Mnatsakan Martirosyan will sentence any citizen," Mihran Poghosyan stressed.

The lawyer is sure that the Prosecutor General will reject the idea of bypassing the ban on the death penalty, because, in his opinion, it is unacceptable to apply the death penalty to people in case of committing any crime.

"The types of crimes are very different. For some, high treason is considered a serious crime, for some, the prosecutor is still conducting a political prosecution, for others, rape or the murder of a young child. From this point of view, to single out treason and put it on a different plane in order to once again create an impression in society that we think so much about the state that we suggest the death penalty to those who have committed treason," Poghosyan said.

Given the fact that Armenia is a member of several international bodies, the lawyer responded to a question about whether it was problematic for Armenia to circumvent the ban on the death penalty.

"Before 2003, Armenia had a Criminal Code adopted in 1961, which also stipulated the death penalty for certain crimes. In Armenia there were people sentenced to death: that is, the use of the death penalty by firing squad. At the same time during the time of independent Armenia there were sentences by which a person was sentenced to death, but the sentences passed after independence were not carried out. In 2003, when a new code was adopted, the death penalty was excluded. And that sentence was commuted to life imprisonment for those convicts," said the lawyer.

Mihran Poghosyan noted that Armenia has always tried to stay away from the use of the death penalty. "There is also a historical problem. The Armenian people have suffered greatly from the use of the death penalty. That's why we have not accepted the death penalty," he stressed.

The lawyer also responded to a question about the consequences of possibly including the death penalty in the Constitution.

"In legal terms, we cease to be part of the European legal system, that is, when we have problems with the law, we ask the opinion of the Venice Commission, appeal to the ECtHR. In such a case, we will be unacceptable for international structures. We will not be a subject of discussion. We will be in legal isolation, which will not have good consequences," he explained.

Artsakh Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan published an extraordinary report in three languages (Armenian, Russian, English) "On violations of the rights of the Artsakh people by Azerbaijan in August 2022", which was sent to the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, structures with a primary mandate to protect human rights and international human rights organizations.

The first section of the report presents the facts of the systematic and continuous crimes committed by Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh since the adoption of the trilateral statement. Since the establishment of ceasefire by Azerbaijan more than 112 crimes were committed which caused heavy human and material losses, as a result of which 3 civilians and 15 servicemen were killed, 126 people (48 civilians, 78 servicemen) were subjected to attempted murder, 65 people (14 civilians, 51 servicemen) received gunshot wounds of various degrees of severity or were subjected to physical abuse. Also the next aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh in August 2022 and its consequences were mentioned.

In the second section the vital importance of the corridor (Lachin corridor) connecting Artsakh with Armenia and the inadmissibility of changing its legal status, as well as the unlawful demand of Azerbaijan to change the route through the corridor before the deadline established by the trilateral statement. It is recorded that to put forward their unlawful demands the Azerbaijani side has constantly resorted to the use of force or the threat of the use of force, which is a gross violation of international law.

The third section speaks about the expulsion of Armenians under the threat of force from peaceful settlements – Berdzor, Aghavno and Nerkin Sus communities, as a result of which the basic human rights were violated, directly contradicting the interim measure of the European Court of Human Rights of September 29, 2020 and the expanded interim measure of November 3 the same year, according to which the parties were called to refrain from such actions which could result in violation of the rights of civilians, protected by the Convention.

Section 4 provides evidence of a sharp increase in hate speech and other manifestations of Armenophobia by Azerbaijani state and public figures during the August escalation. There is a clear disregard by Azerbaijan of the judgment of the International Court of Justice of 7 December 2021, in particular the requirement laid down in paragraph 2 of the judgment, according to which Azerbaijan must: take all necessary measures to prevent incitement and propaganda of racial hatred and discrimination against ethnic Armenians, including by officials and state institutions of Azerbaijan.

Section five of the report talks about the need to clarify the mandate of the Russian peacekeeping mission, which would provide effective mechanisms for properly countering ceasefire violations and ensuring full peace.

The report is based on the research conducted by the Office of the Human Rights Defender, visits to civilian settlements, personal interviews with citizens, information received from public authorities, and is aimed at documenting the violations of the rights of the inhabitants of Artsakh by Azerbaijan and their various manifestations, as well as at drawing the attention of international structures and human rights organizations to the situation in Artsakh.

The report is available at the following .

https://news.am/eng/news/718103.html