The National Assembly Committee on State and Legal Affairs rejected the draft statement "On the Regression of Democracy in Armenia" proposed by the opposition Armenia faction.

ArmInfo. At its November 12 session, the National Assembly Committee on State and Legal Affairs rejected the draft NA statement "On the Regression of Democracy in Armenia," proposed by the opposition Armenia faction. The discussion took place amid heated debate between MPs from the ruling party and the opposition.

Armenia faction MP Lilit Galstyan, who presented the draft statement, pointed to serious problems with democratic institutions and human rights protection in the country. The opposition MP cited the widespread use of arrests as a preventative measure, the increase in deaths in correctional facilities, suicides, wiretapping, and political persecution as manifestations of democratic regression. According to Galstyan, criminal cases brought against opposition politicians also indicate political persecution. Specifically, she stated that the imprisonment of second President of the Republic of Armenia Robert Kocharyan and leader of the Strong Armenia party Samvel Karapetyan constitutes political persecution. To support her assertions, the MP also cited reports from international human rights organizations. Specifically, the 2026 Human Rights Watch report examines issues related to the use of pretrial detention in Armenia, judicial independence, and deaths in correctional facilities. Amnesty International's report on Armenia also expresses concern about human rights protections, trials against journalists and human rights defenders, pretrial detention, and prison conditions. However, Lilit Minasyan, an MP from the ruling Civil Contract faction, disputed the opposition's assessments. She asked which international report refers to people in Armenian prisons as "political prisoners." In response, Galstyan pointed to the case of Republican Party Vice Chairman Armen Ashotyan, noting that the European People's Party addressed his detention in its resolution of November 14, 2023, and expressed concern.

During the discussions, the opposition MP also mentioned the cases of former Vanadzor Mayor Mamikon Aslanyan and Stepanavan mayoral candidate Arsen Gevorgyan. Mamikon Aslanyan was arrested in 2021 after the bloc he led won the Vanadzor Council of Elders elections. He spent more than two and a half years in prison and was acquitted in October 2026. Strong Armenia Party candidate Arsen Gevorgyan was arrested on October 21 on charges of election bribery. He died on November 10 in Nubarashen prison.

During the discussions, an argument erupted between Arman Yeghoyan, an MP from the Civil Contract faction, and Lilit Galstyan. Yeghoyan criticized the opposition MP, calling on her to talk about "Armenia from sea to sea" instead of discussing the alleged backsliding on democracy. Galstyan countered that a ruling party MP cannot decide what issues she should raise. In her opinion, attempting to dictate the topic of her speech is in itself an expression of an anti-democratic stance. Agnessa Khamoyan, an MP from the Armenia faction, also joined the debate. Addressing Arman Yeghoyan, she said that "the role of passionate speaker is already taken," alluding to the term Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan used in his previous speech.

Finally, after a lengthy discussion, the ruling faction members of the committee voted against the draft statement submitted by the opposition.