The manner in which Armenia’s criminal hate speech provisions (Articles 329 and 330 of the Criminal Code) are applied is unlawful. The protected characteristics contained in these provisions are interpreted in a way that directly contradicts international standards on hate speech, including Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)16 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on combating hate speech. At the same time, genuinely protected characteristics - those that constitute an important part of a person’s identity - are almost never invoked in criminal proceedings.

In the overwhelming majority of cases, the impugned statements or calls are motivated by disagreement with the policies conducted by public officials. This is improperly conflated with the protected characteristic of “political views.” As a result, the threshold for permissible criticism of public officials - which should be higher than that applicable to ordinary citizens - is artificially lowered and transformed into an illegitimate tool for shielding officials from harsh criticism.

Given that, on 23 April 2026, the Court of Cassation of the Republic of Armenia, through its guiding decision, endorsed this interpretation and granted it precedential legal force, we conclude that the current application of Articles 329 and 330 of the Criminal Code has become a systemic issue involving the unlawful restriction of the rights to freedom of expression and personal liberty.

Accordingly, the Armenian Center for Political Rights will regard prosecutions brought under these provisions on the basis of such an interpretation of the protected characteristic of “political views” as instances of political persecution.

On the date of publication of this report, Artsakh Armenian politician Arthur Osipyan remains in detention on charges based on an arbitrary interpretation of Article 330. He was put under pre-trial detention on 21 May 2026 and has declared a hunger strike. There is no legal basis for criminal prosecution of Osipyan, let alone for depriving him of his liberty. He is being prosecuted for political reasons, namely for his criticism of Pashinyan and the harsh language he directed at him, and as a result has been subjected to arbitrary detention.

The report is available through this link.