Zohrapyan Meets with Gianni Buquicchio, President of the Venice Commission

Today, I had a meeting with Gianni Buquicchio, the President of the Venice Commission. This was reported by Naira Zohrapyan on her Facebook page.

“I just met with Gianni Buquicchio, the President of the Venice Commission. Naturally, the main topic of discussion was the upcoming extraordinary parliamentary elections, the latest amendments to the Electoral Code, the disproportionate fines for defamation and insult, as well as public sentiments leading up to the elections. The President of the Venice Commission expressed his concerns regarding fake news, considering it a serious challenge to democracy and freedom of speech in Armenia.

We also discussed proposing legislative solutions to address defamation and insult that would not harm freedom of speech in Armenia. Such legislative initiatives should not become a tool in the hands of the authorities to combat political opponents and the media.

I have also conveyed my observations regarding unacceptable changes in the government’s draft within the Civil Code to the monitoring committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and to the co-rapporteurs on Armenia,” Zohrapyan wrote.