Minval Politika alleges Ocampo campaign targeted Azerbaijan and Armenia’s internal politics

A report published by Minval Politika has raised new questions over alleged efforts by Luis Moreno Ocampo to shape international pressure against Azerbaijan and influence political dynamics around Armenia.

According to the outlet, Ocampo, the former founding Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, was recorded during an undisclosed video call discussing ways to influence European policy towards Azerbaijan. Ocampo served as the ICC’s first chief prosecutor from 2003 to 2012.

Minval Politika claims the alleged campaign was carried out with the support of Armenian lobbying groups and financial backing from Armenian businessmen, including figures living in Russia. The outlet names Samvel Karapetyan, Ruben Vardanyan and others among those allegedly linked to the wider effort.

The report also claims European political figures were involved in the campaign. In the footage cited by the outlet, Ocampo allegedly said he had access to a former member of the European Parliament who had worked as a legal adviser to Josep Borrell, the former European Union Foreign Policy Chief.

He reportedly claimed this person could help raise questions inside the European Parliament, put pressure on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and “adjust European policy”.

Minval Politika says it also has information about other European Parliament members and senior EU officials allegedly connected to the wider effort.

The report also says Ocampo referred to a case at the European Court seeking to force the European Commission to terminate a contract with Azerbaijan. He allegedly argued that Azerbaijan was not complying with a human rights clause linked to the agreement.

If authentic, the remarks suggest a campaign built not only around legal advocacy but also around political pressure inside European institutions.

Minval Politika also claims the material points to interference in Armenia’s internal affairs. The outlet cites a video involving Ocampo’s son, Tomas Moreno Ocampo, in which Armenia’s domestic political situation and the possible removal of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan were allegedly discussed.

According to the report, Tomas Moreno Ocampo described efforts to coordinate activists, businesspeople and others involved in campaigns linked to Armenians from Garabagh.

He allegedly mentioned one young woman leading a social media campaign, while also referring to internal political tensions in Armenia and the need to “remove Pashinyan”.

Minval Politika argues that these details raise questions over whether the alleged campaign was limited to pressure against Azerbaijan or whether it also formed part of a wider attempt to influence Armenia’s political direction.

The outlet further claims the videos are authentic and were not altered by artificial intelligence. It says it is ready to publish Ocampo’s response if he chooses to clarify the matter.

The report comes after the European Union previously sent a group to Armenia to help counter hybrid threats. Minval Politika argues that the new material raises a difficult question for European institutions themselves: whether some of those threats may have been shaped through networks operating inside or around European political structures.

The outlet has called for the European Parliament, the European Commission and Belgian authorities to examine the allegations. It says possible bribery, lobbying and influence schemes involving European political figures should be investigated.

The claims come against the backdrop of Ocampo’s previous public involvement in the Armenia-Azerbaijan issue. In 2023, he published an expert opinion accusing Azerbaijan of genocide against Armenians in Garabagh, a claim Azerbaijan rejected.

Minval Politika has presented the material as evidence of a coordinated pressure effort against Azerbaijan and possible interference in Armenia’s internal affairs.

For now, the story rests on several hard questions.

Was this legal advocacy, or political engineering dressed in legal language? 

And if European institutions were used as part of the campaign, who inside those institutions knew, who benefited, and who will investigate it?

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