The Sleepless Night of Yesterday Proved That Security is Paramount: Elinar Vardanian

The issues that were identified several months ago have deepened and essentially necessitate finding new solutions. This was stated today, October 15, by Elinar Vardanian, a member of the National Assembly from the "Armenia" faction, during a panel discussion on the topic "Towards Dictatorship: Backsliding on Rights."

“The same atmosphere continues in Armenia's internal life. Criminal cases, illegal seizures, and threats are ongoing. State terror against opposition figures on behalf of interests continues, and opposition members of parliament are deliberately kept imprisoned. There are opposition MPs facing issues related to their ability to return to Armenia. The electronic signature system in the judiciary has not been operational for several months now. Essentially, the allocation of judges occurs arbitrarily, with judges assigned from whom certain decisions can be anticipated,” she stated.

Vardanian also pointed out that freedom of speech is experiencing serious regression, and consistent obstacles are being created for the media. “You know that insult has been criminalized, and this is a serious alarm in terms of freedom of speech. The freedom to assemble is being restricted, and any gathering turns into a parade of detentions. This poses a serious challenge to democratic values. You are aware that Freedom House has also expressed concern regarding the limitation of freedom of speech and has called for an immediate cessation of the unconstitutional law criminalizing insults,” she noted.

Vardanian emphasized that external threats should be prioritized. “The sleepless night of yesterday, when everyone was waiting for official information regarding Artsakh, should be acknowledged, even though it must be noted that there is not much trust in that official information. However, we cannot ignore internal challenges either. We need to create systems for resistance against state terror and find a formula for public consolidation,” she concluded.