The new AnewZ documentary TARGET: Yerevan, based on secret recordings previously published by Minval Politika, effectively takes the story surrounding Luis Moreno Ocampo, the former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, beyond the scope of an ordinary media scandal.

It is no longer solely about the anti-Azerbaijani campaign Ocampo has conducted in recent years under the banner of defending Armenians from Karabakh. A much broader issue now comes into focus: an attempt to exert external influence over Armenia’s domestic politics, pressure European institutions, mobilise the Armenian diaspora, and shape the political struggle surrounding Armenia’s upcoming parliamentary elections on 7 June.

According to the filmmakers, Ocampo became involved in the South Caucasus agenda when it became clear that the former separatist project in Karabakh, which had existed for decades under the name “Artsakh”, had effectively lost its political future following the Prague agreements and subsequent developments. The film argues that the former ICC prosecutor saw this not as the end of the conflict, but as an opportunity to become part of a new pressure campaign directed not only against Azerbaijan, but also against the normalisation process between Baku and Yerevan.

AnewZ reports that the documentary is built around secret recordings in which Ocampo explains his motives and methods. In these materials, he reportedly discusses contacts, financing, and an information campaign aimed at pressuring European politicians and forcing them to respond to the Armenian agenda in a desired manner.

Source: YouTube

The central thesis of the film is that Ocampo’s campaign was not spontaneous human rights activism, but part of an organised political and information operation. Among the alleged financial backers named are Russian-Armenian oligarchs, first and foremost Samvel Karapetyan. The materials also mention Eduard Melikyan, who describes Karapetyan as the “big boss” in Russia. He claims that Karapetyan is connected to political structures with virtually unlimited resources.

This context is especially important given that Samvel Karapetyan has already emerged as one of the key figures in Armenia’s election campaign. Reuters previously reported that his Strong Armenia party is participating in the elections as part of the pro-Russian opposition camp, while Karapetyan himself is on trial on charges of publicly calling for the overthrow of the government. He denies the accusations and describes the case as politically motivated.

According to AnewZ, one of the most revealing details in the investigation is Ocampo’s recorded admission that he received money from Armenians living in Russia to pay three young specialists who managed his social media accounts. This group reportedly promoted the hashtags COP29, Stop the Genocide, and Free Armenian Hostages, while mobilising around 6,500 members of the Armenian diaspora every day to post on social media. The aim was not merely to create informational noise, but to provoke a response from major Western media outlets and European politicians.

Azerbaijani media had drawn attention to this activity long before the film’s release.

In this sense, TARGET: Yerevan portrays the evolution of a single campaign. Initially, it was aimed at discrediting Azerbaijan ahead of COP29. It then shifted towards pressuring European institutions. Now, according to the film, its ultimate target is Armenia itself — more precisely, the government of Nikol Pashinyan. In one of its previously published reports, Report.az, citing the Centre of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Centre), stated that the recordings point to attempts by Ocampo’s network to interfere in Armenia’s electoral processes and influence normalisation efforts in the South Caucasus.

The main political intrigue lies in the fact that Pashinyan is currently pursuing a course that objectively weakens Moscow’s traditional levers of influence in the region. Armenia is moving towards closer relations with the West, discussing European integration, participating in new transport projects, and attempting to break free from the geopolitical dependence in which it had remained for decades.

Reuters reported that on 26 May in Yerevan, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan signed a strategic partnership agreement, along with documents on critical minerals and the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) transport corridor, which is expected to connect Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan and Türkiye. This approximately 43-kilometre route is strategically important because it reduces regional logistical dependence on Russia and Iran.

This is precisely why the struggle against Pashinyan extends beyond ordinary domestic political competition. His opponents accuse him of “surrendering Karabakh”, making concessions to Azerbaijan, and abandoning Armenia’s traditional allies. For Moscow, however, the problem with Pashinyan runs deeper: if a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan is finalised and transport links are opened, Russia risks losing its role as the principal arbiter in the South Caucasus. The Guardian notes that Armenia’s 7 June elections are taking place against the backdrop of a struggle between Pashinyan’s vision of turning Armenia into a “bridge, not an obstacle” and pro-Russian nationalist forces, among whom Samvel Karapetyan plays a significant role.

The AnewZ film also notes that the European dimension of Ocampo’s campaign was supplemented by an American one. The materials mention former ambassador Ara Papian, who, according to the investigation, coordinated his actions with Ocampo and attempted to use the political influence of the Armenian diaspora in the United States. Separately, the film refers to pressure on US senators and the activities of organisations linked to the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun. According to the film, the logic of this campaign was to turn the Karabakh issue into an instrument for blocking peace agreements.

At the same time, it would be wrong to assume that dissatisfaction with Pashinyan inside Armenia is entirely artificial. It is genuine. Armenian society continues to carry deep trauma following the events of 2020 and 2023. There are tens of thousands of people for whom the Karabakh issue remains a personal tragedy. There is also the Armenian Apostolic Church, elements of the old elite, former Karabakh clans, and nationalist forces for whom any compromise with Azerbaijan is viewed as capitulation. Yet this is precisely why, as the film argues, this pain becomes convenient material for external manipulation. There is no need to create divisions from scratch — it is enough to intensify already existing internal fault lines.

Source: Caliber.az

The Armenian Apostolic Church occupies a special place in this story. The investigation claims that Karapetyan actively financed church structures, which, according to individuals featured in the recordings, gave him influence over part of the spiritual leadership.

Against the backdrop of rising political tensions, Pashinyan entered into a sharp confrontation with church figures whom his government associates with pro-Russian political mobilisation. Reuters previously reported the arrest of Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan and others in a case involving an alleged attempt to seize power; Armenian authorities stated that the case concerned preparations for actions against the government.

Thus, TARGET: Yerevan presents Armenia as the arena of a multi-layered struggle. On one level are the 7 June elections. On another is the issue of peace with Azerbaijan. On a third is the competition between Russia, the West, and regional players over the future architecture of the South Caucasus. On a fourth is an information war in which legal terminology, human rights discourse, social media, diaspora structures, and European institutions are transformed into instruments of political pressure.

The film’s main conclusion is that the target of this campaign is not only Azerbaijan. The target is Yerevan itself — its political choice, its ability to move beyond the logic of endless conflict, and its readiness to conclude a peace agreement capable of reshaping the regional balance of power. If Pashinyan retains power and continues his course towards normalisation, the South Caucasus may gain a chance for a new transport, economic, and political reality. But if revanchist forces prevail, the region risks returning to the old model: conflict as an instrument of control, dependence as a form of security, and Karabakh as an eternal wound that no one is permitted to heal.

By Tural Heybatov

News.Az