The general prosecution of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) opened criminal proceedings on the Azerbaijani blockade of the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with the world.
“On December 12 of the current year, a group of Azerbaijani citizens describing themselves as environmentalists, under fake pretexts unlawfully seized the road connecting Artsakh with Armenia, stopping movement and interrupting the only connection of the citizens of Artsakh with the outside world. Azerbaijan then deliberately cut off gas supply from Armenia to Artsakh for two days.
The General Prosecution of the Republic of Artsakh initiated urgent criminal proceedings on the abovementioned incidents, with the investigative actions, including tactical intelligence operations carried out by the National Security Service of Artsakh obtaining factual information that:
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the overwhelming majority of the Azerbaijani nationals who organized the seizure of the Stepanakert-Goris road are either former or current intelligence operatives;
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the voiced environmental issue is used simply to justify their actions and make it look substantiated;
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Azerbaijan seeks to undermine the foundations of the economy of Artsakh and deprive the population from its source of income and jobs, the actions carried out by the Azerbaijani group contradicts the terms of the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement and the status-quo which it stipulated;
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citizens of Artsakh, as the rightful indigenous people of that territory, are entitled by virtue of international law to the right to possess and use the land, natural environment, nature and subsoil of that territory, which Azerbaijan is attempting to ignore and eliminate,” the prosecution of Artsakh said in a statement.
Azerbaijan blocked the Lachin Corridor – the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world – on December 12. A day later, Azerbaijan cut off gas supply to Nagorno-Karabakh but restored it on December 16. The road remains blocked.
