Media Defence has today filed a case at the Strasbourg court on behalf of four Armenian citizens following the bombing of the town of Martuni by Azerbaijani forces during the recent armed conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. The applicants – three journalists who were injured and the brother of a journalist fixer who was killed – allege that as a result of this attack their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights were violated by Azerbaijan.

The bombing took place on 1 October 2020 when the centre of Martuni was hit by around 40 missiles over a short period. Four people were killed, and a number of others were seriously injured. Later that day the Azerbaijani government, referring to the bombing, accused Armenia of endangering the lives of journalists and violating international law. In fact, attacks on journalists by Azerbaijani armed forces were a regular occurrence over the course of this conflict. Many journalists reported being harassed and threatened by Azerbaijani armed forces while trying to carry out their journalistic work.

The applicants’ case is that their right to life and right to freedom of expression were violated by Azerbaijan when they bombed Martuni. These rights are protected by article 2 and article 10 of the Convention.

The applicants are represented by Pádraig Hughes and Carlos Gaio from Media Defence along with Armenian lawyer and president of the Freedom of Information Centre Shushan Doydoyan, who said:

The press release on the case is here.

The English video of the Media Center online discussion is here.