BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. The video footage of former UN
International Court of Justice prosecutor Luis Ocampo and his son
Tomas, which was released in Azerbaijani media yesterday, once
again revealed the behind-the-scenes of a large-scale and
systematic information campaign against Azerbaijan. This is no
longer about individual statements or mere political gestures, but
about a systematic infrastructure of influence and pressure. This
infrastructure includes Western platforms, diaspora networks, and,
as is now known, financial resources from Russia.
The key figure in this process is the former prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno Ocampo. In the released
video materials, he actually confirms his participation in the
campaign against Baku. Moreover, he openly declares that he has
connections and a team in European institutions, reminiscent of the
former head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, and his
circle.
However, the most notable aspect is not so much the European
focus as the financial basis of these actions.
New footage obtained by Azerbaijani media shows that the
campaign is financed by a "group of Russian-Armenian
representatives" and a special fund has been created for this
purpose. The goal is to ensure long-term and continuous information
pressure.
Ocampo openly confesses that at the initial stage he received
funding from Armenian sources, and then more structured channels
joined the work. We are talking about wealthy representatives of
the Armenian diaspora, who are engaged in international business,
some of whom live in Russia. The main principle here is anonymity.
According to him, the participants in this scheme prefer to operate
through closed mechanisms "because they do not want to have
problems with Russia."
Here are the videos transcripts:
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "Domenech"
Interlocutor: "Domenech?"
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "Yes. I […] can't remember
any surnames, sorry"
Interlocutor: "But is this someone you
hired?"
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "Devesa"
Interlocutor: "Devesa"
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "Devesa"
Interlocutor: "Devesa. But you..."
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "I got some money from the
Armenians"
Interlocutor: "Aha"
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "So, at the beginning,
Armenians, I..."
Interlocutor: "In the U.S.?"
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "No, from an Armenian from
Russia... They don't want any problems with Russia. Anonymity is
key for them"
Interlocutor: "Okay. But are we talking about
Russians living outside of Russia? Or Russians in Russia?"
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "They travel abroad; they
have interests everywhere, not necessarily in Russia. Some, not
all. But I would say that it happens secretly"
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "At first I did it pro
bono. The first report was pro bono. Then I got support from an
American foundation to support a case at the International Criminal
Court (ICC). Then I did the social media campaign, almost pro bono.
And now a group of Russian Armenians is creating a foundation to
finance their more sustained campaign"
Interlocutor: "So how long will your project
last?"
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "I have no idea. Because
now we have… a group of people who are financing this on the
Armenian issue. And we have a commitment until May, […] but what I
do is…”
Interlocutor: "And the minority in
Armenia?"
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "No, the financing
group…”
Interlocutor: "[…] Well, some rich Armenians…
What do they do?"
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "Because they are
Armenians. Because they are Armenians"
Interlocutor: "Are they part of the government
or are they NGOs? Are they people like me, or what?"
Luis Moreno Ocampo: "No, no, no. You know what?
They live in Russia"
In this context, the circle of possible beneficiaries is also
becoming clearer. Businessman Samvel Karapetyan may act as one of
the sources of financing. He has previously been on the agenda in
the context of supporting illegal activities in the occupied
territories of Azerbaijan. According to information, he
participated in financing settlement and infrastructure projects in
Karabakh during the previous occupation.
In addition, Ruben Vardanyan undoubtedly participated in this
process. Although currently detained in Baku, his foundation
continues to operate, and this activity is now managed by his
family and directed towards a campaign against Baku.
New materials show that this practice has not disappeared but
has simply been transformed.
If earlier it was about creating "facts on the ground", now the
emphasis is on information and political pressure. Thus, a whole
ecosystem has been formed in which finance, media, political
relations, and international institutions work as a single
mechanism.
One of the points that particularly attracts attention here is
Ocampo's admission regarding the deadlines. He openly states that
his team's finances are secured "at least until May." This
indicates that the campaign is planned.
May is the final stage of the election campaign in Armenia,
which is preparing for parliamentary election.
Against this background, what is happening now looks not only
like a foreign information attack, but also a direct interference
in the internal affairs and electoral process of this country.
Moreover, it must be taken into account that in the footage
released yesterday, Ocampo's son Tomas actually confessed that one
of the goals of this campaign is to overthrow the Prime Minister of
Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan.
All this once again shows that we are talking about a deeply
rooted system aimed not only against Azerbaijan, but also against
regional stability in general. The joint activities of Western
institutions, financial flows from Russia, and diaspora structures
reveal the multi-level nature of this campaign.
The leaked materials reveal a mechanism that has been hidden for
many years. It is now clear that this is not about the "values" of
individual politicians, but about concretely financed and pragmatic
actions. Corruption money, of course, plays a decisive role.
This story also clearly shows the degradation of personality: a
person who was once a well-known prosecutor of the International
Criminal Court has actually become a lobbyist puppet serving hybrid
attacks involving European structures and Armenian oligarchs in
Russia — Karapetyan and Vardanyan.
