Author: Yeghisabet Arthur

Armine Ohanian, editor-in-chief of the Hraparak daily, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Tuesday that the Investigative Committee launched proceedings under a Criminal Code article concerning “public calls to seize power and overthrow the constitutional order with the use of mass media.” She said she was questioned as a witness.

Ohanian said the case was opened about a year ago in connection with an opinion article she wrote in late 2024, but that she had not previously been interrogated.

Although declining to discuss details due to the secrecy of the preliminary investigation, Ohanian contended that her article did not include any calls for a violent seizure of power.

The Investigative Committee has not publicly commented on the case.

Ohanian, whose newspaper is critical of the government, said she does not know what prompted the investigation.

“Now we live in times of denunciations,” she said, adding that she is not surprised by developments in what she described as an environment where “individuals can face prosecution or imprisonment for expressing their views.” She cited recent cases involving politicians and clergy jailed on similar charges.

Ohanian also suggested the investigation could be intended to intimidate media ahead of the June parliamentary elections.

“Maybe that was also the goal – to scare me. But I have no fear, it’s pointless,” she said.

Armenian officials dismiss accusations of a crackdown on dissent, insisting that the country enjoys significantly greater freedom of speech than under previous governments. At the same time, they stress that public calls for a violent overthrow of the government constitute a serious crime than needs to be dealt with.

Ohanian noted that the criminal probe coincides with a libel lawsuit filed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian against Hraparak. In that case initiated last summer Pashinian is seeking 1 million drams (about $2,600) in damages over a report concerning his private life.

“It is particularly regrettable that all this is being done by someone who once himself was an editor, who worked as a journalist and knows the principles of a journalist’s work,” Ohanian said, referring to Pashinian’s past career in journalism. She added that his earlier publications contained “much more calls for violence” than the editorial under investigation.

The case comes amid broader concerns about press freedom in Armenia. Two weeks earlier, a coalition of Western press freedom groups for the first time included Armenia on its list of countries in wider Europe jailing journalists or other media figures.

The Platform for the Safety of Journalists, which consists of 15 watchdogs, including the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists and Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, cooperating with the Council of Europe, referred to the pre-trial detention of podcasters Vazgen Saghatelian and Narek Samsonian on hooliganism charges. The two currently stand trial for verbally abusing Parliament Speaker Alen Simonian in response to his personal insults.

Ashot Melikian, the chairman of the Yerevan-based Committee to Protect Freedom of _expression_, described Armenia’s inclusion on the list of journalist jailers as a blow to the country’s international reputation.

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