Ex-ICJ prosecutor’s video stirs tensions: claims about Azerbaijan and Armenia’s PM draw regional reaction

Luis Moreno Ocampo on Azerbaijan

The Azerbaijani outlet Minval Politika says it has obtained confirmation that former International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo has been receiving payments from organisations linked to the Armenian diaspora in Western countries for his regular criticism of Azerbaijan.

Ocampo has repeatedly said that human rights are widely violated in Azerbaijan. He has also claimed that more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians were forcibly displaced from Karabakh.

In a video published by Minval Politika, Ocampo and his son Thomas are seen speaking with an unidentified interlocutor. They discuss what is described as a “favourable price” for influencing European Union institutions, including the European Commission and the European Parliament, with the aim of pushing them to end cooperation with Azerbaijan.

During the conversation, it is claimed that the group includes former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

“We are increasing the pressure, and I intend to do this together with the Armenian lobby in the United States,” Ocampo says in the video.

The discussion then turns to Armenia. The participants speak about plans to “remove” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan from the political scene. “What we need to achieve is to remove Pashinyan,” one of them says in the recording.

Ocampo also says he is receiving support in this effort from organisations linked to Karabakh Armenians. He refers to a “young woman” who is running a related campaign on social media.

Minval Politika says the video is authentic and was not generated using artificial intelligence. The outlet has called on European institutions and the Belgian authorities to investigate.е.

What does the video show?

The central figure in the footage is Luis Moreno Ocampo. His status as a former prosecutor of the International Criminal Court lends additional weight to the claims being made.

In the conversation, Ocampo presents himself as someone with connections that allow him to influence European policy.

He says he can carry out such work “at cost” and notes that a member of his team is a former Member of the European Parliament and, according to the interlocutor, a former legal adviser to Josep Borrell.

According to Ocampo, this person could be used to raise issues in the European Parliament, steer proceedings and apply pressure on Ursula von der Leyen.

This appears to be one of the key political claims in the video.

Ocampo then says that legal proceedings have been initiated within European legal frameworks against Azerbaijan. He claims the aim is to compel the European Commission to terminate its agreement with Azerbaijan, citing human rights concerns.

Another key strand of the video involves Ocampo’s son, Thomas Ocampo.

He describes a meeting with individuals working on issues related to “activists, business figures and Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh”.

Thomas Ocampo says that, amid elections in Armenia, there is “significant instability”, and that in this context the goal is described as “removing Pashinyan”:

“What we need to achieve is the removal of Pashinyan.”

Background

Luis Moreno Ocampo was elected in 2003 by the states parties to the Rome Statute — the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court — as the court’s first prosecutor. He held the post until June 2012, when he was succeeded by Fatou Bensouda.

This role made Ocampo widely known in the field of international law and issues related to war crimes.

In recent years, he has drawn attention for his hardline stance on the Karabakh issue in relation to Azerbaijan.

In 2023, he published a legal opinion describing Azerbaijan’s policy as “genocide”, and has since maintained that position in public statements.

This background helps explain why the video published by Minval Politika has attracted significant political and media attention in Baku.

The video also mentions Josep Borrell, who served as the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and as Vice-President of the European Commission from 1 December 2019 to 31 October 2024.

Ursula von der Leyen, also referenced in the video, has been President of the European Commission since 2019 and was re-elected in 2024 for a second term running until 2029.

In this context, the mention of Borrell and von der Leyen goes beyond personal connections.

It points to claims of potential access to key centres of decision-making within the EU — if, as alleged, such channels of influence exist.

Possible implications

First point:

If the video is authentic, it raises questions about lobbying in European institutions, networks of influence and the scope for informal pressure on political decision-making.

Second point:

The recording opens a new debate about the nature of international pressure campaigns around Azerbaijan, particularly those built on human rights arguments.

Third point:

Statements by Thomas Ocampo regarding Nikol Pashinyan could be seen as an attempt at external interference in legitimate political processes within Armenia.

In this context, the issue touches not only on relations between Baku and Yerevan, but also on the European Union’s credibility as a mediator in the region.

Reaction from officials in Azerbaijan

Following the release of the video, a number of politicians and officials in Azerbaijan commented on it. No official statements had been issued at the time of publication.

Sevinj Fataliyeva, an MP and member of the committee on international relations and interparliamentary ties, said that the rhetoric and initiatives of Luis Moreno Ocampo — who presents himself as an international human rights advocate — go beyond the legal sphere and turn his work into “an instrument of open political influence”.

“The discussion in the video of plans to influence European institutions, including weakening or ending cooperation mechanisms with Azerbaijan, points to worrying trends that run counter to the region’s peace agenda. These actions should be seen not as a legal position, but as a deliberate strategy of political pressure.”

She also said it would be more accurate to describe Ocampo as a “hired lawyer”, “as he presents international law in a distorted way on behalf of the Armenian diaspora and lobbying circles”.

Another MP, Parvana Valiyeva, said Ocampo “has long been one of the main figures behind campaigns against Azerbaijan financed by Armenian lobbying structures”, and has acted on their behalf.

Valiyeva added that Azerbaijan remains committed to the peace agenda, and that such external pressure would not derail the peace process in the region.

Luis Moreno Ocampo on Azerbaijan