ICC Chief Prosecutor’s Second Report on Nagorno-Karabakh Genocide Emphasizes Prevention and Punishment

Emil Lazarian
Dec 20 2023
WASHINGTON, D.C., USA, /EINPresswire.com/ — The renowned first chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno Ocampo, has published his second report on the 2023 genocide of the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) people by Azerbaijan. After 9-months-blockade, Azerbaijan made an aggression in September, as a result of which hundreds of people were killed and practically the entire people of Nagorno-Karabakh have been forcibly displaced to Armenia within 6 days. The full report can be found here.

This paper focuses on the Nagorno-Karabakh situation, affirming the urgency to release more than twenty victims of genocide, including three former Nagorno-Karabakh presidents and five other community leaders, incarcerated in Azerbaijan. Their captivity is part of the genocide and a message to their community: if you come back to Nagorno-Karabakh, you will be starved, incarcerated or killed.

The 75th anniversary of the Genocide Convention’s adoption exposes the consistent state parties' position to deny the commission of genocide. In the last months of 2023, the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide alerted about six different situations where there is a risk of genocide against ethnic groups, including the Rohingya, the Nagorno-Karabakh people, the Tigray in Ethiopia, the Israelis and Palestinians, and the Masalit in Darfur, Sudan.
State parties of the Genocide Convention, like the US, France, the UK, Germany, Israel and Russia, ignored information about the serious risk of genocide for the Nagorno-Karabakh people. Instead, they wanted to facilitate an agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan to avoid new hostilities and to achieve economic and geopolitical national interests. Israel, for instance, benefited from substantial weapons sales to Azerbaijan. State parties of the Convention should not benefit from genocide.

Their obligation to prevent genocide requires to continue assessing President Aliyev's genocidal intention to attack Armenia, ensure reparations for those who have lost their lives and their property in Nagorno-Karabakh, guarantee the rights of the ethnic group to return to their ancestral land safely, and to release the “Armenian prisoners.”

Artak Beglaryan's testimony, the short video version here, is evidence of the serious mental harm suffered by the entire ethnic group as established by the Genocide Convention Article II b).

The report analyzes in detail three topics:

a) the ethnic cleansing against a group of Armenians living for centuries in Nagorno-Karabakh constituting genocide and deportation as a crime against humanity.
b) regarding the prevention of genocide in Nagorno-Karabakh, the consistent state practice was to ignore the information about genocide against the targeted ethnic group.
c) regarding the obligation to punish genocide, the International Criminal Court will obtain jurisdiction at the beginning of February to investigate President Aliyev for crimes committed in Armenia since 10 May 2021.

Artak Beglaryan
Unblock Humanity
email us here


https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/676284640/icc-chief-prosecutor-s-second-report-on-nagorno-karabakh-genocide-emphasizes-prevention-and-punishment
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Armenia has not extradited a Russian conscript who fled because of the war in Ukraine

Alex Jidarian
Dec 20 2023

  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Armenia did not extradite Russian conscript

“The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Armenia has not received, discussed or approved the petition on the detention, arrest and transfer (extradition) of Dmitry Setrakov to the competent authorities of the Russian Federation,” Lusine Martirosyan, Advisor to the Prosecutor General of Armenia, said, denying the extradition of the Russian citizen.

Dmitry Setrakov, who fled because of the Russian-Ukrainian war, allegedly taken from Armenia to Rostov-on-Don, is in the military police department, as reported by the Russian service of Radio Liberty.

Setrakov faces up to ten years in prison for leaving the unit he served in unauthorized. There is no information yet on how he ended up in Russia. He was detained in Gyumri by military police officers of the Russian base, where he was held until he was taken out of Armenia.

Armenian human rights activists have declared that the Russian military police has no right to detain anyone on the territory of Armenia, including a Russian citizen.

The agreement signed between Russia and Armenia in 1997 regulating the activities of the Russian military base in Armenia stipulates that the base can only detain its own servicemen. Setrakov is not a member of the base.

Armenian human rights activists report that military police appeared at the military base five years ago. At that time, the Russian side assured that their function would only be to observe the internal discipline of the military on the territory of the base.

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Advisor to the Prosecutor General Lusine Martirosyan also said in a Facebook post that the Prosecutor’s Office “has no information about the search for Dmitry Setrakov by the authorized bodies of the Russian Federation and his discovery” on the territory of Armenia.

“The statement of human rights defender Artur Sakunts regarding Setrakov has been sent to the body carrying out operational and search activities in order to verify the information stated therein. After which the issue of opening a case will be discussed.”

Human rights activist Artur Sakunts appealed to the Prosecutor General to “take measures regarding the illegal actions committed by the military police of the Russian military base on the territory of Armenia, as well as to make efforts to prohibit or prevent the possible transfer of Dmitry Setrakov from the territory of Armenia to the Russian Federation.”

The Prosecutor General’s Office considered the application, but no criminal case was opened, and Setrakov has already been removed from Armenia.

On December 9, Artur Sakunts warned that military police officers of the 102nd Russian military base stationed in Gyumri detained Russian citizen Dmitry Setrakov. He received this information from colleagues from a Russian human rights organization, to which Setrakov’s wife had appealed.

According to Sakunts’ report, he was a contract serviceman, but after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war he refused to serve and moved to Armenia.

The human rights activist also called the management of the military base. He received confirmation that the man had been detained. He was told that the base’s investigation department should conduct an investigation, and if found guilty, Setrakov would serve his sentence in the Russian Federation.

The Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Assembly, headed by Sakunts, also appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, reporting about Setrakov’s illegal detention. The human rights organization submitted a demand to the court to apply an urgent measure and oblige Armenia not to extradite Setrakov to Russia.

Human rights activist Artur Sakunts considers the actions of the Russian law enforcement bodies on the territory of Armenia as “encroachment on the legal system of Armenia and Armenia as a sovereign state”.

He said that he asked the leadership of the military base on what grounds Setrakov was arrested. He was told that “this is an order from Russian President Putin.”

“It turns out that the order of the President of the Russian Federation is valid on the territory of the Republic of Armenia. The order of the president of any country cannot obtain in another sovereign state. In such a situation, the security of thousands of other Russian citizens sheltering in Armenia is also under threat,” Sakunts says.

According to the human rights activist, this is a serious challenge for the Armenian authorities, who have obligations to the Council of Europe, including the protection of the rights of any person on the territory of the country.

https://jam-news.net/armenia-did-not-extradite-russian-conscript/

The pope again appears to accuse Israel of terrorism

Anna Tamamian
Dec 20 2023

( / JNS)

Pope Francis has repeatedly called on Israel to lay down arms in its defensive war against Hamas, whose Oct. 7 terrorist attack was the bloodiest day for Jews since the Holocaust.

It’s “forbidden to respond to terror with terror,” the pontiff reportedly told Israeli President Isaac Herzog last month. On Sunday, the pope said, “Some say, ‘This is terrorism and war.’ Yes, it is war. It is terrorism.”

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which is based in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, stated on Dec. 16 that an Israeli sniper “murdered” two Christian women in a Gaza church. “No warning was given, no notification was provided,” it said. “They were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the parish, where there are no belligerents.”

On Oct. 7, the patriarchate blamed Israel for being a victim. “The cycle of violence that has killed numerous Palestinians and Israelis in the past months has exploded this morning, Saturday Oct. 7, 2023,” it posted. “The operation launched from Gaza and the reaction of the Israeli Army are bringing us back to the worst periods of our recent history.”

It also called for “the international community” to “de-escalate” the situation and for a ceasefire and for negotiation of peace.

In some of the worst periods in less recent history than what the patriarchate referenced, the Catholic Church is accused of turning a blind eye to Nazi atrocities and it murdered and oppressed Jews over many centuries.

“My conscience and moral duty require me to state clearly that what happened on Oct. 7 in southern Israel is in no way permissible and we cannot but condemn it. There is no reason for such an atrocity,” Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, wrote in an Oct. 24 letter to the diocese which now yields an error message.

“The same conscience, however, with a great burden on my heart, leads me to state with equal clarity today that this new cycle of violence has brought to Gaza over 5,000, including many women and children, tens of thousands of wounded, neighborhoods razed to the ground, lack of medicine, lack of water and of basic necessities for over 2 million people,” he added. “These are tragedies that cannot be understood and which we have a duty to denounce and condemn unreservedly.”

He added that “It is only by ending decades of occupation and its tragic consequences, as well as giving a clear and secure national perspective to the Palestinian people that a serious peace process can begin. Unless this problem is solved at its root, there will never be the stability we all hope for.” (He also referred to “the Queen of Palestine.”)

Warren Goldstein, chief rabbi of The Union of Orthodox Synagogues of South Africa, said that the pope’s recent comment that it is “forbidden to respond to terror with terror” compares “Israel’s just war of self-defense to the barbarism of Hamas.” In so doing, the pope “repeats the sins of Pope Pius the XII, from the Nazi era, of surreptitiously supporting the forces of evil who seek to annihilate the Jewish people,” Goldstein said.

“If Israel’s war is not just, then there has never been a just war,” he added. (He noted a Dec. 13 Wall Street Journal article, in which David Rivkin and Peter Berkowitz note the pope’s “primitive pacifism,” and that the “Catholic Church developed just-war theory, but the pontiff doesn’t seem to understand it.”)

“It is a matter of public record that the IDF has done more in this war and previous wars to minimize civilian casualties than any other army in recorded history,” Goldstein said. “International law accepts, unequivocally, that even a just war can, and inevitably will, result in civilian casualties.”

Pope Pius XII, prior to his papacy, was the Vatican ambassador to Nazi Germany and was “at the very least a passive bystander to the Holocaust, if not an active supporter,” Goldstein said.

“Pope Francis, I turn to you and say: ‘God has given you an historic opportunity to atone for the sins of Pope Pius XII and the Catholic Church, during the Holocaust,” he added.

“Pope Francis, to repent on behalf of the Catholic Church, you must not stand by as a passive bystander like Pope Pius did during the first Holocaust, while Iran seeks to perpetrate a second one,” he said.

https://www.jns.org/the-pope-again-appears-to-accuse-israel-of-terrorism/

Russia reportedly transfers ‘kidnapped’ deserter from Armenia to Rostov

Baghdasarian Karlen

Dec 20 2023


 

ByArshaluys Barseghyan

Russia has reportedly transferred a man they are alleged to have kidnapped in Gyumri to the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, despite Armenian authorities claiming to have no knowledge of his detention or departure from the country.

On Tuesday, Idite Lesom (‘go through the woods’), a project created to help Russians avoid military service, said that Dmitry Setrakov was being held at the Southern Military District’s Regional Military Police Directorate.

The project added that they were looking for a lawyer to represent Setrakov in Russia.

According to the group, Setrakov was abducted by members of the Russian military police posing as Armenian personnel on 6 or 7 December.

How Setrakov could have been transferred to Russia remains unknown.

On Wednesday, Armenian authorities denied that Setrakov was extradited, with the Prosecutor General’s advisor, Lusine Martirosyan, stating that they had not ‘received, discussed, or approved’ any request to ‘to arrest, detain and hand over Dmitriy Setrakov’ to Russia. 

‘The General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Armenia does not have any information regarding the investigation of Dmitriy Setrakov by the competent authorities of the Russian Federation, as well as his discovery in the territory of the Republic of Armenia’, added Martirosyan.

The Armenian National Security Service did not respond to a request for comment on how Setrakov could have crossed the border without their knowledge.

Setrakov reportedly moved to Armenia in late November to avoid fighting in Ukraine. Vot Tak, a Belarusian news outlet, reported that Setrakov could face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty of desertion.

Setrakov’s alleged abduction and transfer to Russia has raised questions about the authorities’ willingness to confront illegality by Russian troops stationed in the country.

Artur Sakunts, the head of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor, a local rights group, decried the lack of ‘reasonable explanation at any official level’.

‘I am amazed at the universal silence at the political level, at the level of the National Assembly [parliament], law enforcement bodies, that they did not consider it an encroachment on the security of the Republic of Armenia’, Sakunts said in an interview on Tuesday with Levon Barseghyan.

Sakunts added that he had asked the National Security Service about the circumstances in which Setrakov left the country.

‘What documents and justifications were presented? [Setrakov] crossed the border on his own, but was caught on the other side of the border?’

‘Does the National Security Service border guard service exist or not?’, he asked. 

A day prior to Setrakov’s reported transfer to Russia, Sakunts had appealed to the authorities to take measures to close ‘all possible channels for the possible illegal transportation of Setrakov’. 

Sakunts previously called on the Prosecutor’s Office to press charges against the Russian officers involved in abducting Setrakov.

The prosecutor’s office responded that Setrakov’s case had been handed over to law enforcement agencies to verify the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.

Armenia’s Investigative Committee said they had ‘processed’ Sakunts’ application, but have yet to announce whether they planned to launch an investigation.


MP: Estonia should prioritize Turkish relations over recognizing Armenian genocide

Alex Nanijanian
err
Estonia – Dec 20 2023

Estonia does not need to start weakening relations with Turkey by recognizing the Armenian genocide, Chairman of the Riigikogu's Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson (Reform) said on Tuesday, in response to a proposal by the foreign minister Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200).

During an official visit to Yerevan last week, Tsahkna released a statement saying Estonia would work towards recognizing the 1915 genocide.

Tsahkna told ERR on Wednesday his proposal is nothing new and was first put forward by President Arnold Rüütel in 2004. Estonia's allies, such as the USA, Sweden, Germany, Latvia, and Lithuania, have also recognized the event as genocide, he added.

The issue must now be discussed in the Riigikogu and the ball is in its court, the minister said.

"And I know that there are such discussions. This is nothing urgent, but it is more of a question of values that goes along with our own broader concept of the rule of law, genocide, all the international crimes against humanity that we have been very clear about and that Russia is also carrying out today in relation to Ukraine. I have stated my position, and it is now up to the Riiigkogu to debate the matter," Tsahkna said.

Mihkelson: Issue should have been discussed with Riigikogu first

Mihkelson said Tsahkna's proposal was a "surprise" and the topic is not being discussed in the Riigikogu.

"We all read about it in the minister's social media post. The foreign minister apparently missed the little nuance that if we are seeking the widest possible support in the Riigikogu on this issue, it is better to engage with our partners and colleagues through the Parliament and see what the willingness is on the ground to get broad support for such a bill before announcing it on social media," the MP said.

"Communicating with representatives of various factions, I do not see that this is a topical issue at the moment and that such a bill be processed will by the Riigikogu," he added.

Mihkelson did not rule out putting forward a draft on the matter in the future, but said politics is always in the background. At the moment he believes prioritising relations with Turkey is more important.

"We understand perfectly well what has happened in history, and Estonia's foreign policy is, after all, more broadly set to stand up for these values, so that no crime against humanity goes unpunished or is repeated. But at this point in time, with a very turbulent world, and with the news coming out of Ukraine rather more worrying than it was six months ago, and with a number of serious problems to be solved in keeping the allied space together, any additional tension between the allies, not least because of our own actions, is certainly not in Estonia's security interests," said Mihkelson.

"What is important for Estonia in international foreign policy at the moment is precisely the issues of ensuring security and strengthening the alliance space, not weakening it. This is a clear priority in our foreign policy, this is my personal view," he added.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs communicates with Turkey

Mihkelson indicated that Turkey had a very clear and critical reaction to Tsahkna's statement.

"Estonia has concluded a very substantial defense cooperation agreement with Turkey for armored vehicles. Turkey is a very important ally in NATO. We have, of course, also conveyed these messages to our Turkish counterparts through direct contacts and diplomatic channels," he said.

Tsahkna said Turkish officials have asked what Estonia's plans are.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs told ERR the Estonian ambassador in Ankara has explained Estonia's positions. There has also been communication with the Turkish ambassador in Tallinn.

"In our discussions, we stressed the importance of bilateral relations and a continued strong alliance with Turkey. Estonia does not attribute the Armenian genocide to any of today's countries. We believe that speaking openly about what happened in history will contribute to the development of democratic societies and also prevent the recurrence of these crimes," the ministry said.

The Armenian genocide took place in 1915 when the Ottoman Empire systematically destroyed and deported Armenians, causing the death of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians.

The Armenian National Institute said 32 countries have recognized the killing of Armenians as genocide. However, Turkey does not believe the claim and some countries have allegedly not recognized the genocide to keep up good relations.

Last year, representatives of the Association of Estonian National Minorities called on the Riigikogu to recognize the Armenian genocide

Armenpress: Chess GM Levon Aronian endorses Ozbiliz for FFA presidency

Bedik Zaminian

 10:36,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS. Chess grandmaster Levon Aronian has endorsed Aras Ozbiliz for the presidency of the Football Federation of Armenia (FFA).

In a statement posted on social media, Aronian praised Ozbiliz’s career in football and expressed hope that he will win the vote.

“We now have the chance to elect someone who’s played in the national team and in strong clubs for many years, and proved to be a professional athlete, as president of the football federation. I hope that Aras Ozbiliz will get support on this path,” Aronian said.

Aras Ozbiliz is running for the presidency of the Football Federation of Armenia against the incumbent President Armen Melikbekyan. The election will take place on December 23.

[see video]

Trump barred from Colorado primary ballot for role in US Capitol attack

Markos Nalchajian

 11:58,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS. Former U.S. President Donald Trump is disqualified from serving as U.S. president and cannot appear on the primary ballot in Colorado because of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters, the state's top court ruled Tuesday, Reuters reports.

The historic 4-3 ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court, likely to be taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court, makes Trump the first presidential candidate deemed ineligible for the White House under a rarely used constitutional provision that bars officials who have engaged in "insurrection or rebellion" from holding office.

The ruling applies only to Colorado's March 5 Republican primary but it could affect Trump's status in the state for the Nov. 5 general election. Nonpartisan U.S. election forecasters view Colorado as safely Democratic, meaning that President Joe Biden will likely carry the state regardless of Trump's fate there.

Trump vowed to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Colorado court said it would delay the effect of its decision until at least Jan. 4, 2024, to allow for an appeal.

The ruling sets the stage for the Supreme Court, whose 6-3 conservative majority includes three Trump appointees, to consider whether Trump is eligible to serve another term as president.

The lawsuit is viewed as a test case for a wider effort to disqualify Trump from state ballots under section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which was enacted after the U.S. Civil War to keep supporters of the confederacy from serving in the government.

The Colorado court concluded that the U.S. Constitution bars Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in 2024, from appearing on the ballot because of his role instigating violence at the Capitol as lawmakers met to certify the results of the 2020 election. The court's majority acknowledged the decision was "uncharted territory."

"We do not reach these conclusions lightly," the majority justices wrote. "We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach."

Trump's campaign called the court decision "undemocratic."

"The Colorado Supreme Court issued a completely flawed decision tonight and we will swiftly file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court," a spokesperson from the Trump campaign said.

CSTO Secretary General to visit Armenia on December 21

Dabaghian Diana

 12:52,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS. Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Imangali Tasmagambetov will visit Yerevan on December 21, the organization said in a press release.

In Yerevan, the CSTO Secretary General will have a meeting with Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan to discuss the results of the CSTO summit in Minsk.

Armenia did not attend the CSTO meetings in Minsk.

The bloc’s secretary-general had previously announced plans to visit Armenia to present the agreements reached during the summit.

Azerbaijan does everything to avoid signing peace treaty with Armenia, warns lawmaker

Nahapetian Samvel

 12:53,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan is doing everything to avoid signing a peace treaty with Armenia, Armenian Member of Parliament Armen Khachatryan has warned.

“Yes, Azerbaijan has a negative disposition, perhaps Azerbaijan isn’t interested in a peace treaty. Azerbaijan understands that a result [of a peace treaty] Armenia’s economy could grow rapidly, and there could be serious prospects for Armenia’s development. They study this very well and they draw conclusions. Naturally, they aren’t too excited over Armenia having such a prospect. Today we see that Azerbaijan is doing everything in order to avoid signing a peace treaty or signing the kind of treaty that would be clearly guaranteed. Even if it’s signed, Azerbaijan is now doing everything in order for it to be at least like the November 9 document, to be able to breach all terms, which we have witnessed and which we will not allow. But this isn’t up to Azerbaijan, there is the international community, the West, there are many countries, and of course today there is a lot of diplomatic pressure on Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan must be brought to the constructive field,” Khachatryan told reporters.

PM Pashinyan highlights science and education in strategic planning of Armenia’s future

Hagop Kamalian

 14:22,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS. Armenia has accumulated scientific potential and it’s time for the government to make serious investments in science, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said.

Speaking at a ceremony celebrating the 80th anniversary of founding of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), PM Pashinyan emphasized the important role of supporting science given that the government has been continuously increasing science funding since 2019.

The government increased science funding by 151% in 2023 compared to 2018, and in 2024 the funding will grow by 181%.

Mentioning the salary increase in the sector, the PM said that in 2022-2023 the number of persons engaged in science grew by 296, most of whom are scientists below the age of 55.

“The glorious legacy of the NAS is viewed not just as a fact, but a necessary and highly important asset to make strategic investments in the future. Today, many active scientists in Armenia have concrete contributions in modern scientific achievements by being involved in international scientific teams, but their work isn’t sufficiently covered. But the society must know all renowned scientists involved in breakthrough achievements,” the Prime Minister said in his speech at the event.

He said that the government is investing in science not just for the scientists, but for Armenia’s future, because the government sees the country’s progress in serious scientific development and reforms.

“It’s impossible to envision Armenia’s future without a developed scientific-educational sector, and it is science and education where we see the strategic planning and guarantee of our country’s future,” the Prime Minister said, noting the project on creating the Academic City.