2025 report reveals rising hostility toward Armenian Media- CPFE

ArmInfo.  In 2025, 45 cases of insults and obstruction of journalists' activities were recorded, with 33   committed by the Armenian authorities, as stated  by Ashot Melikyan, Chairman of the Committee to Protect Freedom of  Expression (CPFE),  during a press conference in Yerevan on January  26,while presenting the state of freedom of speech in Armenia and  violations of the rights of journalists and media in 2025.

He noted that the most high-profile incidents involved high-ranking  officials, including Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Alen  Simonyan, Chairman of the Defense and Security Committee Andranik  Kocharyan, Civil Contract faction MP Vilen Gabrielyan, Yerevan Mayor  Tigran Avinyan, and Gyumri Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan.

Melikyan noted that, overall, in 2025, half of all cases of pressure  on journalists and media outlets, as well as legal proceedings, were  committed by high-ranking government officials. In this regard, he  recalled that all violations are divided into three categories:  physical violence, other forms of pressure, and violations of the  right to receive and disseminate information. According to him, 224  cases were recorded in all three categories in 2025, an increase  compared to 2024 (208 cases). "Summing up the results of the fourth  quarter, it can be noted that physical violence remained at the 2024  level - 15 cases. Other forms of pressure increased from 71 cases in  2024 to 108 in 2025, while violations of the right to receive and  disseminate information decreased from 122 to 101 cases," the head of  the CPFE reported.

Melikyan added that violations were most often recorded during  periods of heightened socio-political tensions, when attacks and  pressure on journalists and media outlets intensified. He pointed out  that such escalations are often linked to confrontations between the  opposition and the government, as well as between the Armenian  Apostolic Church (AAC) and the ruling party. "During this period,  events were covered from extreme positions, depending on the  political stance of a given media outlet. This extreme approach was  documented in reports by international organizations as a negative  phenomenon. In this environment, fake news, disinformation,  manipulative commentary, and insults became more prevalent. As a  result, constructive discussion became virtually impossible, which is  a worrying trend given the upcoming parliamentary elections in  Armenia in 2026," Melikyan noted.

The head of the CPFE emphasized that, given the spread of fake news,  disinformation, and insults in the media, there has also been an  increase in lawsuits and disputes. In this context, he noted that the  2025 figures are comparable to those of the post-revolutionary period  (the Velvet Revolution in Armenia in 2018, when Prime Minister Nikol  Pashinyan came to power - ed.) and the post-war figures of 2021  (after the 44-day war in 2020 - ed.). According to him, 63 lawsuits  against media outlets and journalists were recorded in 2025, the  majority of them being for insult and libel (61), and two cases were  related to copyright protection.

Regarding cases of physical violence against journalists, Melikyan  reported that 15 incidents were recorded in 2025, seven of which were  committed by law enforcement agencies and seven by citizens  supporting the government. In this context, he also noted the lack of  progress in investigating these cases, which, he said, indicates the  need for law enforcement to step up its efforts.  Concluding the  briefing, the CPFE head stressed that Armenia's media legislation is  outdated. The Committee is currently finalizing a package of  modernizing proposals to present to Parliament, aimed at better  protecting journalists and ensuring the public's right to reliable  information.