By Siranush Adamyan
Armenian opposition figure Artur Danielyan was remanded in custody for two months late Wednesday over Facebook posts, his lawyer Tigran Atanesyan said.
Danielyan, founder of the Adekvad party and a frequent critic of the government, was arrested earlier that day.
Armenia’s Investigative Committee said the case concerned alleged hooliganism committed using information or communication technologies.
Atanesyan said investigators had added several counts to the hooliganism charge, all relating to Facebook posts. He said Danielyan also faced an additional charge over a post allegedly discrediting the National Security Service.
On Wednesday morning, Danielyan wrote on Facebook that he had been summoned to the Investigative Committee and expected to be charged.
In an October 6 Facebook post, Danielyan referred to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as a “scumbag,” writing: “The scumbag said today: ‘If we say, give us one of the prisoners so we can give you your soldier, tomorrow one of our soldiers might cross over — who would we give them then?’”
Pashinyan had told Infocom that returning soldiers who cross the border should be handled separately from efforts to secure the release of Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan. He argued that making such returns conditional on prisoner exchanges could complicate the return of Armenian soldiers in similar circumstances. He added that the Azerbaijani soldier detained over an alleged shooting in southern Armenia would face legal proceedings and serve any resulting sentence in Armenia, at least initially.
Danielyan has been arrested before, including in 2020 following a physical altercation with Alen Simonyan, then deputy speaker of parliament.
UPDATE: Detention draws criticism
Danielyan’s detention prompted criticism from media and civil society figures, who questioned the use of criminal proceedings against government critics over social media posts.
The case follows the September 29 arrest of writer and playwright Vahram Sahakyan, another outspoken critic of Pashinyan, over a Facebook post. Sahakyan was charged with inciting or promoting hatred, intolerance or hostility. A court subsequently placed him under administrative supervision, and his lawyer said he was barred from posting on social media except about his professional work.
Media consultant Artur Papyan linked the two cases, describing them as “a coordinated effort to intimidate society and silence dissent.”
Papyan accused law enforcement agencies of selectively pursuing critics while leaving threats and hate speech against opposition figures unpunished. He urged human rights organizations, civil society and international institutions to speak out.
“When critical speech is criminalized, freedom of expression becomes a fiction,” he wrote.
Responding to Papyan’s post, media expert Samvel Martirosyan suggested that geopolitical considerations could limit international criticism.
“Given the geopolitical situation, some international actors and states may even welcome this, depending on whom it is used against,” he wrote.
Civil activist Isabella Sargsyan said that despite Danielyan’s hostility toward her and her own opposition to his views, detaining him over a Facebook post that she argued contained no criminal offense sent “a bad signal to society.”
She cited the European Court of Human Rights’ ruling in Handyside v. the United Kingdom, saying freedom of expression also protects ideas that “offend, shock or disturb the State or any sector of the population.” She accused Armenia of disregarding the court’s rulings.
Also read: Armenia’s growing problem of abusive law enforcement
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