Simonyan Proposes Increasing Compensation for Insult from 1 Million to 5 Million, Defamation from 2 Million to 10 Million

In a recent press conference, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Alen Simonyan proposed increasing the previous compensation for insults from 1 million to 5 million drams and for defamation from 2 million to 10 million drams.

“The government, in turn, is suggesting to increase the amounts to 2 million and 3 million drams, respectively, which I believe should be discussed at a plenary session since such discussions, being important, should ensure broad participation. I would like to hear opinions from the factions,” he stated.

Simonyan added that this is still a preliminary proposal. “As a person who currently has 6 lawsuits related to defamation and insults, I assure you that this draft will deter people from spreading false information and the temptation to insult others, as well as somewhat relieve citizens from the trash that is currently flooding the internet. I believe this step is necessary and somewhat overdue,” the MP said.

Simonyan emphasized that the law pertains to real individuals, and fake profiles do not have much influence. “For instance, a real person might declare that my shirt is worth 10 thousand or 100 thousand dollars, and that false news may spread and be manipulated. This law will allow a person to think 2-3 times more before insulting or defaming someone,” he noted, adding that this applies to everyone.