Does Nikol Pashinyan Call the Police to Report Insults? Journalist Questions Deputy Police Chief

The police do not provide any service or "service." This was stated by Deputy Police Chief Ara Fidanyan during a press conference, responding to a question regarding how they decide that a criminal case should be initiated against someone for remarks made about Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and whether there is a special group monitoring such issues.

“In 2021, there were 268 registered cases of crimes under Article 137.1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. Out of these, 17 cases were sent to court, 101 are ongoing, while the rest were terminated or suspended. 20 cases are related to a person's public activities. This year, up until March 17, there have been 240 registered cases under the same article, of which 4 are already in court, 48 are ongoing, and the rest have been terminated or suspended,” Fidanyan stated.

Journalists noted that most of the cases primarily concern Nikol Pashinyan, while criminal cases directed against opposition figures or ordinary citizens constitute a small portion or do not exist at all. They inquired about how insults directed at Pashinyan or his family members come to the police's attention, asking if Pashinyan himself calls the police to report such insults and why the police investigate comments specifically made against him.

Regarding the procedure for deciding to prosecute someone for insulting Pashinyan, Fidanyan mentioned that any individual targeted by the offense can personally report to the police. Additionally, the police conduct investigations, and the subject of the inquiry may include information found in the media.

It is worth noting that last month, for example, the prosecutor's office announced that a citizen had been fined 500,000 drams in Armenia for insulting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. In 2021, there were instances where Armenian law enforcement agencies initiated criminal cases for posting offensive comments under Pashinyan's photo on Facebook.