Armenian Justice Ministry seeks real actions by int’l community against Azerbaijan for war crimes

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 3, ARMENPRESS. At any cost Armenia will achieve real tools to be used against Azerbaijan by the international community in addition to condemning statements, the Deputy Minister of Justice Grigor Minasyan said over the video showing the extrajudicial killings of Armenian PoWs by Azeri troops.

“Our colleagues, both the Ombudsperson and the representatives of the government on international legal affairs, are already utilizing toolkits and will apply to both the ECHR and the International Court of Justice,” Minasyan told reporters.

Minasyan said they are doing everything so that the assessments are made in legal terms and that such cases are ruled out through working with international partners.

“At any cost we will achieve, that in addition to condemning statements, there will be real tools used and that at least those guilty get designated by the international community as the perpetrators and that this act gets condemned,” Minasyan said.

He added that this footage, as well as events that took place in the past few months and years, shows that everyone needs peace. However, this footage also proves that there is still a lot to be done in that direction.

Asked about the expectations from applying to international courts, he said: “First of all, to record the given crime, and through working with international partners to force them to hold the perpetrators accountable based on their national legislation.”

The footage of the gruesome killings of Armenian PoWs by Azeri troops was posted online in Azeri social media.

The authenticity of the video has been validated by the Human Rights Defender and the Defense Ministry using video data base material, comparative analyses of terrain, weather conditions, conversations and uniforms of the troops.

Earlier on October 2, following the release of the video showing the killings of Armenian PoWs by Azeri troops, EU’s Special Representative for South Caucasus Toivo Klaar had tweeted: “Another horrible video has emerged of Armenian prisoners of war apparently being executed. If this video is proven to be authentic then this is a war crime that needs to be investigated and the perpetrators punished."