In a statement, the ECHR said the Azerbaijani authorities must “take all measures that are within their jurisdiction to ensure safe passage through the ‘Lachin Corridor’ of seriously ill persons in need of medical treatment in Armenia and others who were stranded on the road without shelter or means of subsistence.”
It said nothing about the resumption of supplies of food, medicines and other essential items to Karabakh’s population.
The Strasbourg-based tribunal issued the “interim measure” at the request of the Armenian government. The latter asked for this and other injunctions shortly after the start of the road blockade on December 12.
The ECHR statement argued that a Russian-brokered agreement that stopped the 2020 war in Karabakh requires Baku to “guarantee the security of persons, vehicles and cargo moving along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.” It also said that “the extent to which the Government of Azerbaijan are currently in control of the situation in the ‘Lachin Corridor’ is disputed and unclear at this stage.”
The sole road connecting Karabakh to Armenia was blocked by groups of Azerbaijanis demanding that their government be allowed to inspect “illegal” mining operations in Karabakh and assess their environmental impact.
Baku backs their demands while denying responsibility for the blockade. It also claims that the protesters are not obstructing traffic through the corridor controlled by Russian peacekeepers.
The Armenian government and Karabakh’s leadership maintain that Baku organized the blockade as part of its efforts to drive the Karabakh Armenians out of their homes.
The blockade led to growing shortages of fuel, drugs and some foodstuffs in Karabakh. It also left more than a thousand Karabakh Armenians stranded in Armenia.
Karabakh hospitals, which indefinitely postponed non-urgent surgeries last week, are still unable to transfer their gravely ill patients to Armenia for further treatment.
So far the Azerbaijani side has allowed them to evacuate only one such patient. Another one died in a Stepanakert clinic on Monday.