Lawyer warns against withdrawal of int’l lawsuits against Azerbaijan

Lawyer Siranush Sahakyan, who heads the International and Comparative Law Center, has warned the Armenian government against the withdrawal of international lawsuits filed against Azerbaijan after the 2020 war.

“Azerbaijan has started pressuring Armenian authorities to drop international lawsuits which could block the legitimization of the Azerbaijani ‘plunder’,” she told a news conference on Monday.

Sahakyan highlighted the lawsuits failed in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as key tools to prevent new Azerbaijani attacks and investigative its war crimes.

The lawyer rejected the arguments that Azerbaijan would also be required to drop cases against Armenia.

“The withdrawal of international suits would legitimize the crimes committed by Azerbaijan and its territorial gains,” she said. “Armenia would end up in a vulnerable situation where political prerequisites may not help prevent new wars or their devastating consequences.”