UAE-linked Armenian businessman faces war crimes allegations over GHF role

A UK-based rights group has filed a legal complaint in Armenia against a businessman with reported links to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over allegations of war crimes connected to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

The Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR) said in a statement that it submitted a complaint to Armenia's Prosecutor General calling for an urgent investigation into David Papazian, an Armenian national who reportedly chairs the board of the GHF.

In a series of letters seen by Middle East Eye, the AOHR said that there is "credible evidence and documentation" that Papazian "may have been involved in, or facilitated, actions that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip".

The US and Israeli-backed GHF has been widely condemned over its militarised food distribution mechanism in the besieged Gaza Strip, with charities such as Doctors Without Borders (MSF) accusing it of institutionalising "starvation and dehumanisation".

At least 1,800 Palestinians have been killed and more than 13,500 wounded while collecting food or queuing for assistance at GHF sites or en route to its centres. 

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