Parliamentary Elections in Armenia and Hate Speech Against Nagorno-Karabakh Refugees: April 2026
13.05.2026
By Hayk Khanumyan
The campaign for Armenia’s 2026 National Assembly elections has officially begun, although participating political forces have already been actively campaigning for several months. The intensification of political competition in an increasingly polarized environment has led to a rise in hate speech, visible both among social media users and various political actors, particularly representatives of the ruling party. The Regional Center for Democracy and Security is monitoring hate speech targeting refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh in the public sphere during the pre-election period and publishing monthly reports. The March report can be read here.
Unlike in March, April did not see the dissemination of anti-refugee rhetoric by media outlets associated with the authorities. Compared to the previous month, high-ranking officials also largely refrained from openly using hate speech or degrading language targeting Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians.
However, throughout April, hate speech against Nagorno-Karabakh refugees continued to be generated by various users and bloggers on social media. Many of these materials received hundreds of thousands of views.
Hate Speech Against Refugees on Social Media
On April 10, the TikTok page streettalk_armenia, which produces short vox-pop style videos, published a brief interview with an unidentified passerby who targeted all Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians, especially women from Nagorno-Karabakh:
“I’ll say this directly — Karabakh people aren’t even Armenians. Those women, excuse me a thousand times, have shared beds with Turks and given birth to Turkish bastards. There isn’t a single woman in Karabakh who hasn’t been with a Turk.”
The same individual also commented on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s framing of Karabakh Armenians as “runaways”:
“[Pashinyan] was right, absolutely right. Why did they flee? They left their land and water and ran away. Who were they relying on? Armenians here? Why? They should have defended their own land. We have 3,000–6,000 dead from here, from Armenia, defending their land from the Turks, while they ran away and came here to live. And now they even demand to live well. He did the right thing by humiliating them. He should expel them all — not a single Karabakh Armenian should remain here.”
This rhetoric contains extreme forms of hate speech and dehumanization toward Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians. It portrays all Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh as “non-Armenians,” effectively denying their belonging to Armenian society — a classic form of exclusionary rhetoric aimed at isolating and alienating a vulnerable group. The targeting of women from Nagorno-Karabakh is not only offensive but also sexualized and dehumanizing. The insults directed at forcibly displaced people blame victims for their displacement and depict them as an “undeserving group,” while portraying their social needs as illegitimate demands. Particularly dangerous are the calls to expel Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians from Armenia. Under international definitions of hate speech, calls for the removal or expulsion of a group are considered among the most dangerous forms of hate speech.
A criminal case was reportedly initiated in connection with these videos. However, past experience shows that proceedings related to hate speech against refugees rarely progress, and suspects are generally not formally charged. The situation differs significantly when hate speech is spread by opponents of the authorities, who are often quickly charged and detained.
Pro-government lawyer Alexander Sirunyan, known for spreading hate speech against refugees, again targeted Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians in an April 28 Facebook post:
“I’m doing simple math. Why is the number of healthy men displaced from Karabakh lower than the total number of Armenians from Armenia who died ‘for’ Karabakh?
Shirak, Shamshadin, Masis, Goris, Kond, Yonjlugh gave around 25,000 dead and triple that wounded, yet I get 60,000 healthy Karabakh men displaced from Karabakh???
Sue me if you want))))”
Sirunyan’s post not only manipulates facts but also reinforces the authorities’ narrative of “deserter Karabakhis.” In reality, during the First Karabakh War, 2,034 of those killed were from Armenia and 2,700 from Nagorno-Karabakh. During the 2020 Second Karabakh War, around 794 of the more than 4,000 killed or missing were from Nagorno-Karabakh.
Through this post, Sirunyan deepens the division between Armenians from Armenia and Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, portraying Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians as people unwilling to fight or defend their homeland.
Sirunyan is known for his close ties to the ruling Civil Contract party. In January 2025, the ruling faction nominated him for membership in the Supreme Judicial Council. Following public backlash and a negative integrity assessment by Armenia’s Corruption Prevention Commission, the ruling faction eventually withdrew his candidacy.
Another prominent pro-government social media figure, Roman Baghdasaryan, also targeted Nagorno-Karabakh refugees. Once again, he expressed anger that some Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians criticized Nikol Pashinyan in taxis and other public spaces.
“How rotten do people have to be? You’ve been in Armenia for three years, dear Karabakh Armenians — and I’m talking about 95% of them, only 5% are normal. For three years the government has been giving you all this money, and how dare you even speak against the prime minister? ... It’s from the taxes of Armenian citizens that the prime minister gives money so Karabakh Armenians can build homes, receive compensation, solve all their problems, go to doctors, universities — billions have been spent from our taxes. And when you hear a Karabakh Armenian criticize the prime minister, don’t you ask them: ‘Hey freeloader, whose money are you living on in Armenia that you dare criticize the prime minister?’”
In another part of the livestream, Baghdasaryan stated:
“They abandoned everything and fled, and now they want to live luxuriously off Armenia’s budget. They say, ‘we are guests.’ No, you are not guests — you have obligations toward this country, which you robbed for years together with your leaders.”
He continued:
“Look at the cars they drive. Where did that money come from? Those are stolen funds they are now using to destroy Armenia from within. It benefits them when Armenians turn against Armenians.”
In this video, viewed tens of thousands of times, the pro-government blogger develops the narrative of “ungrateful Karabakhis,” portraying an entire group as “thieves” and “provocateurs,” while describing only 5% of them as “normal.” Responsibility for war and displacement is shifted entirely onto the victims themselves.
Notably, legal proceedings have been initiated based on Baghdasaryan’s publications, yet these have had no real impact on his behavior, and he continues to spread hate speech targeting refugees without restriction.
At the same time, law enforcement agencies appear highly responsive when threats are directed at Baghdasaryan himself. In 2024, he was granted state protection by an investigator’s decision and was reportedly accompanied in public by officers from the criminal police.
The continued impunity of hate speech authors allows them to remain active in the public sphere and may further encourage the spread of hate speech against Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians.
Legitimization of hate speech disseminators by high-ranking officials
During a visit to Istanbul in April, Armenian National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan met with pro-government social media user Natali Aleksanyan. Their joint photo circulated widely online. Aleksanyan frequently spreads hate speech against Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians. One of her earlier posts targeting refugees, also shared by pro-government media outlets, was included in the March report. A criminal proceeding had been launched over one of her posts, but, as in similar cases, no meaningful progress followed.
In an April video, Aleksanyan stated that she herself had requested the meeting with Simonyan. During the meeting, the Speaker reportedly presented her with an Armenian-made watch bearing his signature, sweets, and a pin in the shape of Armenia’s map.
On April 25, during events marking “Citizen’s Day,” Alen Simonyan was also photographed with another individual known for targeting Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians, Tatul Asilyan.
In recent years, Asilyan has published posts containing hate speech against Nagorno-Karabakh refugees. In one Facebook poll, he asked followers:
“Are you in favor of Karabakh Armenians remaining in Armenia?”
In another post, he wrote that the Karabakh dialect should be eradicated from Armenia.
These posts caused major public controversy and outrage in Armenia.
The photo with Simonyan was published on Asilyan’s Facebook page. Asilyan had previously been a member of Civil Contract but was expelled by the party board for “serious violations of the party charter.” In 2025, he was charged with obtaining money through the pretext of mediating a bribe. He was sentenced to imprisonment, and approximately 25 million drams (around $65,000) were confiscated from him. (See Datalex.am, Court Case No: HKD/0182/01/25).
On April 22, Asilyan also published a photo with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and had previously posted reels featuring him.
When senior officials publicly pose with or display friendly relations toward individuals known for targeting Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians, it risks legitimizing or normalizing hate speech against them. Parts of society may come to perceive such rhetoric as acceptable or tolerated. This behavior by officials may also contribute to a climate of impunity among those spreading hate speech.
Conclusion
During April 2026, the targeting of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians and hate speech against refugees was primarily generated by public figures who are not officials themselves but maintain close ties with the authorities.
At the same time, the public friendliness displayed by senior officials toward well-known anti-refugee social media personalities risks legitimizing both hate speech and those who spread it, making degrading rhetoric and incitement against Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians appear increasingly acceptable.
The inaction of law enforcement agencies remains one of the key factors enabling the spread of hate speech against refugees. Although proceedings are formally initiated in hate speech cases, they rarely lead to concrete consequences. Moreover, as the case of Roman Baghdasaryan demonstrates, the law enforcement system appears more inclined to provide protection to leading figures spreading hate against refugees.
This report was produced with the financial support of the European Union and the German Marshall Fund of the United States – Transatlantic Foundation (GMF TF). Its contents are the sole responsibility of the Regional Center for Democracy and Security and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the GMF TF.