Democracy Watch

By Tigran Grigoryan In recent weeks, the rhetoric of Armenian politicians, particularly within the ruling party, has raised significant concerns about the use of offensive and politically incorrect language in public discourse. These incidents underscore the need for greater accountability and the protection of democratic values, particularly in the face of growing political polarization. Andranik […]

By Tigran Grigoryan As anticipated, the new Trump presidency is creating serious challenges for civil society and independent press around the world. The recent decisions by the administration to freeze foreign aid and curtail the activities of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have had a crippling effect on Armenia’s civil society and independent […]

By Tigran Grigryan Hetq’s recent investigation revealed that on May 4, 2023, the Armenian government invested AMD 1.5 billion (around US$3.8 million) in a newly established company, CFW CJSC, led by an individual with close ties to Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan’s wife. What makes this deal even more alarming is that the company received the funds just […]

By Tigran Grigoryan The ruling Civil Contract party has launched a public smear campaign against Radio Free Europe/Radio Libety’s Armenian Service (Azatutyun). Two high-ranking government officials—Arayik Harutyunyan, the head of the Prime Minister’s Administration, and Ruben Rubinyan, the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly—have led verbal attacks against Azatutyun. Harutyunyan accused Azatutyun of spreading “fake” news and […]

By Tigran Grigoryan The Armenian government’s treatment of opposition figures continues to raise concerns about freedom of expression and political repression. The latest case involves Edgar Ghazaryan, a former high-ranking official, ex-ambassador to Poland, and now a vocal government critic through his YouTube platform. Ghazaryan faces criminal charges over statements deemed defamatory, with potential consequences […]

By Tigran Grigoryan On February 1, the Armenian media landscape was shaken by the news that a 70-year-old professor from Nagorno-Karabakh, Gharib Babayan, who had recently posted a video on his Facebook page showing a group of ethnic Azerbaijanis from Iran singing a song titled “Karabakh”, was under investigation. In his post, Babayan expressed outrage […]

By Karena Avedissian For a recent Freedom House project on disinformation and hate speech targeting vulnerable groups in Armenia, the Regional Center for Democracy and Security, where I work as Senior Analyst, conducted a focus group with Nagorno-Karabakh refugees. Our goal was to identify the most common stereotypes they face in Armenian society, based on […]

By Tigran Grigoryan The recent confrontation between Armenia’s Human Rights Defender, Anahit Manasyan, and opposition MP Garnik Danielyan has ignited debate over freedom of speech and the independence of the ombudsperson institution. The controversy began with a Facebook post by Danielyan, in which he criticized Armenia’s penitentiary system and accused the ombudsperson’s office of inaction. Manasyan responded with a […]