Publication Date 22.02.2023
This report is developed jointly by the Center for Law and Justice "Tatoyan" Foundation (hereinafter: Foundation) and the Human Rights Ombudsman of Artsakh. The purpose of the Report is to provide evidence shedding light on the real situation taking around the blockade of the only Road of Life connecting Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) and its 120,000 civilian population with Armenia and the outside world.
On 12 December 2022, the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Artsakh detected that on the same day at around 10:30 AM (GMT+4), several groups of people from Azerbaijan, who claim to be so-called "independent environmentalists" or "civil movement", blockaded the GorisÂ-Stepanakert highway, in the area known as the "Lachin Corridor". This is the only road that connects Artsakh to Armenia and the rest of the world. It is the road of life for 120,000 civilians who live in Artsakh. After the closure of the road, the entire civilian population of Artsakh has become in total blockade and isolation facing massive human rights violations and security threats. This information was immediately shared with the Foundation within the established cooperation with the Ombudsman of Artsakh.
From the very beginning of the blockade of the Road of Life, the facts revealed the close affiliation of the so-called "eco-activists" with the Government of Azerbaijan. Further analysis of evidence as regards some of those people showed that, in fact, they are controlled and governed by the authorities of Azerbaijan. Moreover, these are people who openly show their hatred towards Armenians and, in their public posts, openly encourage killings of Armenians, destruction of Armenian communities•
However, the Azerbaijani authorities have been continuously denying their relation to these self proclaimed "eco-activists". They have been trying to mislead the international community by presenting these people as independent activists with no relation to the Government.
