Civilnet
By Lia Avagyan
A coalition of Armenian civil society organizations and human rights experts has accused the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of using the criminal justice system as a political instrument to silence dissent and intimidate critics.
In a joint statement released on Forrights.am on October 19, the groups said they “strongly condemn the selective, punitive, disproportionate and unlawful application of criminal justice mechanisms” in recent months, warning that the trend represents “gross violations of fundamental human rights.”
The signatories expressed deep alarm at the growing use of criminal charges and pre-trial detention to restrict free expression, particularly in cases involving criticism of the authorities.
The statement cited the October 17 arrest of lawyer Aleksandr Kochubayev, who was detained and indicted after a strongly worded Facebook post criticizing the arrests of clergy and judges. Witnesses said masked National Security Service officers threw him to the ground before taking him into custody.
Civil society groups described the move as a “disproportionate and unlawful interference” with freedom of expression, arguing that “even offensive speech cannot justify the use of criminal prosecution or pre-trial detention in a democratic society.”
The Chamber of Advocates and Human Rights Ombudswoman Anahit Manasyan also condemned the arrest as inconsistent with international standards, noting that deprivation of liberty is permissible only in cases of “the most serious types of unlawful speech.”
Pattern of punitive prosecutions
The statement referred to what it called a pattern of politically motivated prosecutions, including the case of Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, sentenced to two years in prison for his public remarks, and the continued detention of billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, accused of inciting unrest after defending the Armenian Apostolic Church’s leadership.
Karapetyan was arrested on June 18 just hours after publicly declaring his support for Catholicos Karekin II and vowing to defend the Armenian Apostolic Church “in our own way,” amid Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s campaign to depose the Church’s supreme head. In the days that followed, the government moved to nationalize Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA)—Karapetyan’s largest asset in the country—passing a fast-tracked bill that allows regulators to strip private owners of management rights and install state-appointed administrators without a court ruling. Authorities also launched raids on companies within his Tashir Group and froze assets linked to his business empire, while new criminal cases alleging tax evasion and money laundering were opened against him and several associates
The NGOs also pointed to the detention of Arsen Ghukasyan, the uncle of a soldier missing in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, describing it as an attempt to “intimidate” families of the missing and deter public protest.
According to the statement, such practices “distort the rule of law, undermine the institutional independence of the judiciary and the integrity of the justice system, and erode public trust.”
The groups called on public officials to refrain from influencing the judiciary, on courts to uphold the presumption of innocence and human rights guarantees, and on law enforcement and security agencies to avoid disproportionate use of force.
The declaration was signed by:
- Protection of Rights Without Borders NGO
- Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly – Armenian Committee
- Armenian Progressive Youth NGO
- Public Journalism Club NGO
- Center for Law and Freedom NGO
- Regional Center for Democracy and Security
- Yerevan Press Club
- Helsinki Association for Human Rights NGO
- Journalists for Human Rights NGO
- MITQ NGO
- Isabella Sargsyan, expert on freedom of religion or belief
Together, they urged Armenian authorities to end what they described as the politically motivated misuse of criminal justice mechanisms and to ensure that the judiciary remains independent amid rising pressure on opposition figures, clergy, and civil society ahead of next year’s elections.
Stories
