A number of Armenian human rights and civil society organizations have issued a joint statement demanding an end to the criminal prosecution of Arthur Osipyan. The groups described the case against him as politically motivated and aimed at restricting freedom of expression.
“We, the undersigned civil society organizations, strongly condemn the clearly unlawful, unfounded and politically motivated criminal prosecution and deprivation of liberty imposed on Arthur Osipyan. Even more unlawful, disproportionate and condemnable is the motion submitted to the court seeking detention as a preventive measure, which is being used to restrict his public speech and activities and to punish him, rather than on the grounds established by law.
According to the official statement disseminated by the Investigative Committee of Armenia, public criminal prosecution has been initiated against him on charges of hooliganism, obstructing election campaigning and public calls for violence. The charges are unlawful and unfounded and contradict Armenia’s international obligations concerning freedom of expression, including principles established through the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.
Arthur Osipyan’s publicly known actions, including his debate with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, his raising of issues of public importance and his social media post, fully fall under the protection of freedom of expression as critical speech.
In this context, we once again record the selective justice practiced by law enforcement bodies — the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Investigative Committee — based on political expediency and exclusively in defense of representatives of the ruling political force. Otherwise, criminal legal assessments would also have been given to public statements by representatives of the ruling force and personally by Nikol Pashinyan, which allegedly contained hate speech, public calls for violence and threats, including references to torture of persons deprived of liberty, both in this episode and in incidents that occurred in previous days,” the statement said.
The organizations demanded that the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia and the Investigative Committee immediately release Osipyan from detention and terminate the criminal prosecution against him. They also urged authorities to maintain high standards of independence and impartiality, rely exclusively on Armenia’s Constitution and international human rights obligations, and avoid unlawful or selective prosecutions, including the disproportionate use of criminal law tools during the election campaign to silence criticism of the ruling party.
The statement was signed by organizations including Protection of Rights Without Borders, Journalists for Human Rights, For Equal Rights, Public Journalism Club, MediaStep, the Armenian Committee of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly, the Regional Center for Democracy and Security, the Human Rights Research Center, the Yerevan Press Club, the “New Culture of Justice” NGO, the Community Consolidation and Support Center NGO, the Vanadzor Office of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly and the Helsinki Association NGO.
Arthur Osipyan is the chairman of the Artsakh Revolutionary Party. During an election campaign event in the Arabkir district, he approached Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and asked questions regarding Armenia’s security and demands advanced by Azerbaijan, noting that Baku raises the issue of the return of Azerbaijani refugees on international platforms. Pashinyan reacted sharply, accusing Osipyan of spreading “Azerbaijani narratives.” The situation later escalated, and Pashinyan harshly urged Osipyan to leave. Following the incident, criminal proceedings were launched against Osipyan on hooliganism-related charges.
