The President of Artsakh asked the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for an expert opinion on whether the blockade is genocide

On July 29, the President of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), Arayik Harutyunyan, sent a letter to Luis Moreno Ocampo, a leading specialist in international law, former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and lecturer at Harvard and Yale universities, asking for an expert opinion on whether the deepening blockade of Artsakh corresponds to the crime of genocide. Tt is stated in the letter, particularly:

“As the President of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), I request your expert opinion regarding the current situation of 120,000 Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. We considered that your practice as the founder Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (2003-2012), particularly your request to issue an arrest warrant for Genocide against the President of Sudan, would be relevant to provide us with the information required. We need your opinion on three questions:

a) Could it be considered that the blockade of our people by Azerbaijan since December 12, 2022, and especially the blockage of all kind of humanitarian assistance to Nagorno-Karabakh implemented since June 15, 2023, constitutes the crime of genocide?

b) Has the International Criminal Court jurisdiction on the matter?

c) Who could be personally responsible? Please consider this as an urgent request, given the deteriorating humanitarian and security situation in my country with daily basis and growing sufferings of my people. I am attaching a report providing relevant information.”

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