In a joint statement, several civil society organizations and experts strongly condemned the recent manifestations in Armenia of the selective, punitive use of criminal‑justice mechanisms for political purposes, accompanied by gross violations of fundamental human rights, reports Forrights.am .
The statement emphasizes that what is especially worrying are cases where criminal‑law measures were used for limiting freedom of speech, including through detentions, on grounds of political expediency.
“Although freedom of expression is not an absolute right under international legal standards and may be subject to restrictions, those measures must be lawful, legitimate and proportionate in a democratic society. Limiting speech — even harsh, insulting or otherwise unlawful speech — and punishing it through criminal‑law mechanisms cannot be considered lawful and proportionate, but rather bears a punitive character and sends a clear signal to society to silence dissent, critique and unwanted speech.”
On October 16, it became known that lawyer Alexander Kochubaev was arrested and charged after having published general criticism of law‑enforcement bodies on Facebook. A video circulating shows how the arrest was carried out with use of unnecessary force — he is thrown to the ground and humiliated as if being punished for his post. He has been placed in pre‑trial detention for two months.
The use of criminal‑justice mechanisms and the most severe preventive measure for a social‑media post, even if insulting, constitutes an unlawful and disproportionate intervention in a person’s rights, the organizations state.
The declaration further underlines that such disproportionate intervention amounts to arbitrary actions.
“Among such manifestations is the criminal prosecution of Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan under Article 422(2) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, his detention and sentencing to imprisonment for freedom of speech when the same speech was earlier considered non‑prosecutable by law‑enforcement agencies, and the full array of criminal‑law instruments was applied in conditions of tension between the Armenian authorities and the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church. Moreover, the unusually swift conduct of the pre‑investigation and especially the trial, and choosing imprisonment as punishment, underscores the tendency to deploy criminal justice for political convenience against Archbishop Ajapahyan.
The same concern arises regarding the prosecution under Article 422 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia against Samvel Karapetyan, based solely on suppositions and apparently driven by political considerations, and his continuous detention.
It is notable that since 2020 there has been a sharp increase in criminal cases brought on calls to seize power, including posts on social networks.”
Another striking example of unlawful interference with the right of expression is the detention of Arsen Ghukasian, the paternal uncle of a serviceman missing in action during the 2020 Nagorno‑Karabakh war, which aims to influence his exercise of the right to protest and to take part in assemblies — and moreover to serve as a deterrent to other family members of missing servicemen in exercising their legitimate claims and criticism of the authorities. Furthermore, reports were published that Arsen Ghukasian suffers from illnesses incompatible with detention, which further highlights the illegality of his pre‑trial detention.
Such practices distort the rule of law and the institutional integrity and independence of the criminal‑justice system, and affect trust in the judiciary system — as the guarantor of human‑rights protection — within society.
The signatory organizations demand: – That public‑authority representatives refrain from exerting pressure on the judiciary and law‑enforcement agencies, and uphold the presumption of innocence in public statements;
– That courts act exclusively in accordance with the Constitution, international obligations and the law — ensuring protection of human rights;
– That proper procedures be ensured for assessing preventive measures and “reasonable suspicion”;
– That investigators and prosecutors conduct independent and effective investigations in line with the law and international treaties — ensuring full protection of the rights of those involved;
– That the police and the National Security Service abstain from unnecessary use of force and violations — guided by constitutional and legal norms.
The statement is signed by: Protection Without Borders NGO; Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Armenian Committee; Armenian Progressive Youth NGO; Public Journalism Club NGO; Centre for Law and Freedom NGO; Regional Centre for Democracy and Security; Yerevan Press Club; Helsinki Association for Human Rights NGO; Journalists for Human Rights NGO; MITQ NGO; and expert on freedom of religion or belief Izabella Sargsyan.
