Armenian businessman faces war crimes allegations over Gaza 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 militarized food distribution mechanism in the besieged Gaza Strip, with charities such as Doctors Without Borders (MSF) accusing it of institutionalizing “starvation and dehumanization”.
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 centers.
In several cases, the GHF has denied anyone was killed at their sites and says the UN figures on the number of aid seekers killed are “false and misleading”.
“These casualties raise serious concerns regarding the operational framework of [GHF] and the potential complicity of its leadership in facilitating or enabling actions that amount to crimes under international law,” the complaint states.
According to the complaint, the GHF is registered both in Delaware, United States and Geneva, Switzerland. CBS News reported earlier this year that, according to Swiss registration documents, Papazian was listed as one of its three leaders.
The AOHR, which claims Papazian is the president of the foundation’s council in Switzerland and also a founding board member of the US entity, alleges these dual structures form part of “a deliberate pattern of administrative concealment and fraud” to obscure decision-making and funding sources.
UAE business ties
Papazian, 43, has played a key role in several business ventures in the Middle East and has helped broker business ties between Armenia and the UAE.
As chief executive of the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF) from 2019 to 2024, he secured high-profile investment deals, including a $174 million solar energy partnership with UAE-based renewable energy giant Masdar.
The project was hailed at the time as a landmark in Armenia-UAE relations. The AOHR complaint does not allege any wrongdoing related to the deal, but Papazian’s international business networks, particularly in the UAE, reflect the influence he brought to the GHF leadership and the contacts he likely built in Abu Dhabi, which has become an important ally of Israel in recent years.
In 2023, Papazian event boasted in a LinkedIn post: “I’m delighted to share that after Paris, ANIF can also call Abu Dhabi a second home!”
Papazian also served as chairman of the board of Fly Arna, Armenia’s now-defunct national low-cost airline. Based out of Yerevan, Fly Arna was a joint venture between UAE-based Air Arabia and ANIF. Air Arabia operates out of Sharjah International Airport in the UAE.
In January 2024, Papazian was dismissed from his role at ANIF amid allegations of mismanagement. Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan later called the fund’s performance a “failure” and “a disgrace.”
In May 2024, Fly Arna began liquidation proceedings after the Armenian government approved the dissolution of ANIF, one of its joint shareholders.
The AOHR alleges that in his GHF role, Papazian “played a key role in designing, endorsing, and overseeing the implementation of an operational aid delivery model that has led to mass civilian harm”.
AOHR says in their filing that the GHF was established “to serve the strategic objectives of the war as defined by the Israeli government”, replacing and undermining UN relief agencies.
“From the early stages of the war on Gaza, the occupying power [Israel] began to demonize humanitarian relief efforts… It has become clear that the underlying objective” was to dismantle independent aid operations, the group said.
The complaint says Papazian was “fully aware” of reports by UN bodies documenting acts of genocide, including the use of starvation as a weapon, yet proceeded “in pursuit of sordid financial gain”.
An Associated Press investigation published on 3 July found American contractors working under the GHF used live ammunition, stun grenades and pepper spray on Palestinians seeking food.
The AP cited witnesses and video evidence, as well as contractor testimonies describing GHF operations as “dangerously unregulated” and staffed by “poorly trained guards acting with impunity”.
More recently, former US special forces contractor Anthony Aguilar, who worked at the GHF site, turned whistleblower, reporting that Israeli forces were prepared to fire at children and that he had witnessed Israeli soldiers and US military contractors shooting unarmed Palestinian civilians.
In its complaint, the AOHR argued that Papazian’s Armenian citizenship places him within the jurisdiction of Armenia’s courts for crimes committed abroad. The group cites Armenia’s obligations under the Geneva Conventions, the Genocide Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which Armenia ratified in October 2023.
“The conduct of Mr Papazian… meets the threshold of legal complicity and renders him criminally liable under both Armenian law and international criminal law,” the complaint says.
International criminal law, it adds, “establishes individual accountability not only for direct perpetrators but also for those who plan, incite, facilitate, or otherwise enable the commission of such crimes”.
The AOHR said it has submitted evidence, including UN reports, internal communications, and financial records, to Armenia’s prosecutor. The group wants all materials related to Papazian’s role in the GHF examined and, if sufficient evidence is found, legal action taken.
“Prosecuting David Papazian would demonstrate Armenia’s commitment to justice and the international legal order,” the complaint says, adding that holding him to account would reaffirm Armenia’s pledge to prevent impunity for mass atrocities.
Middle East Eye reached out to Armenia’s Prosecutor General and the GHF for comment but did not receive a response by time of publication.
Papazian declined to comment.
