Changes to Armenian Law to Restrict Freedom of Speech in the Press

The newspaper "Zhoghovurd" reports: "It is no secret that the threshold for freedom of speech has decreased over the past five years through pressures exerted on journalists and their work. These pressures have often intensified to the point where some media outlets, news agencies, and individual journalists resort to the judicial system or journalistic organizations for self-defense.

"Zhoghovurd" has conducted a comparison of the number of court cases involving media and journalists over the past years. In 2023, there were 36 court cases filed against media outlets and journalists in Armenia, an increase of 4 cases compared to 2022. In recent years, Article 1087.1 of the Armenian Civil Code, which pertains to insults and defamation, has been actively used to bring lawsuits against journalists. Last year, 34 of the lawsuits concerned this article, while the other two were based on economic or other disputes. In 2019, 94 lawsuits concerning media and journalists were filed in court, and in 2020, there were 82.

Comparative studies from the Committee to Protect Freedom of Speech in 2013 and 2014 show that the number of cases based on insult and defamation has nearly tripled. The fact is that the current authorities, whose core consists of former representatives of the media sector, are plotting against their own colleagues and filing lawsuits against them. Former journalists, together with the country's leadership, are attempting to implement changes to the Armenian Law on Freedom of Information that will allow them to limit the types of information they provide. That is, if the draft law is adopted, entities will be able to provide only the information they choose, while withholding what they deem inappropriate. Such actions are aimed at silencing independent media and attempting to restrict their work in secrecy. Public accountability is diminishing."