Council of Europe flags detention of Armenian podcasters in press freedom report

The Council of Europe’s Safety of Journalists Platform has highlighted the criminal charges against two detained Armenian podcasters in its annual press freedom report published on Tuesday.

“At the end of 2025, Armenia was recorded for the first time on the Platform with journalists or other media actors in detention, following the pre-trial detention of podcasters Vazgen Saghatelyan and Narek Samsonyan on hooliganism charges,” the report said.

Saghatelyan and Samsonyan were arrested last November after a legal complaint was filed by Alen Simonyan, the country’s parliamentary speaker. Simonyan told reporters that the two had made threats against him in one of their podcast episodes, including warnings of politically motivated retribution once he is no longer in office, and used explicit insults.

While Simonyan insists the case concerns criminal conduct, government critics argue that the arrests amount to a crackdown on opposition-aligned media figures. The two remain in custody pending trial.

Earlier in 2024, the same podcasters were detained on hooliganism charges after insulting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and other members of the ruling party. They were acquitted the following year.

Inclusion in the list does not amount to recognition of the detained podcasters as political prisoners. The platform records alerts submitted by partner organizations concerning alleged threats to media freedom and does not prejudge the legal merits of individual cases or ongoing court proceedings.

Among Armenia’s neighbors, the report recorded 36 journalists in detention in Azerbaijan, 24 in Turkey, and one in Georgia.