Friday, May 3 2024 11:47

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.