Transitional dictatorship in Armenia - opposition MP

ArmInfo.The fact that Armenia has nothing to brag about in matters related to the protection of human rights, opposition Armenian MP Artur Khachatryan stated in Parliament on May 3. 

According to him, all international human rights organizations, including Freedom House, record that the country is practically sliding into dictatorship on the issue of human rights. "According to Freedom House, the data of which makes some in Armenia allergic, the state of human rights in the country is assessed on a scale of 3.07, of which 3 is dictatorship. Thus, the republic is only 0.7 points higher than the indicators of dictatorship. In the state, which has proclaimed itself a "bastion of democracy," we are, in fact, dealing with a transitional dictatorship," Khachatryan noted.

He added that almost all international and local human rights organizations have documented problems regarding the right to freedom of speech. "The country's authorities first criminalized the so-called "serious insults", after which, under pressure from the international community, they abandoned its use, but now, under different sauces, they are again trying to criminalize these insults. The example of bloggers Narek Samsonyan and Vazgen Saghatelyan is a clear confirmation of this," said parliamentarian. At the same time, Narek Samonyan was subjected to a drive using brute force. By the way, Khachatryan continued, the use of brute force was brought to the attention of the country's authorities, both Freedom House and the US State Department. "No longer having the opportunity to resist, the authorities are already resorting to sadistic methods against people they do not like, and the forces of law and order have already adopted the practice of humiliating citizens who are subject to arrest. The detention of a young man for an incident in public transport has become a black mark on the current rulers of the country." ", the parliamentarian concluded, calling on the ruling majority in the National Assembly to take a time out in a fit of enthusiasm, and look at the situation differently, to ask themselves the question of whether Armenia is really a "bastion of democracy."

Today, May 3, the National Assembly continued discussions on the report presented the day before on the activities of the RA Human Rights Defender in 2023.