⦁ Vazgen Saghatelyan and Narek Samsonyan host the Imnemnimi podcast, which is broadcast via the social media platforms of the Antifake.am website. The podcast features harsh critical commentary by the hosts and their guests on political issues in the Republic of Armenia, targeting the ruling party and its leader.
⦁ On March 22, 2024, the podcasters were arrested and subsequently detained. They were charged with “hooliganism” with aggravating circumstances, i.e. the offence “committed by a group of people using information or communication technologies”, over profanities during one of their episodes. The Armenian Center for Political Rights (ACPR) previously ⦁ analyzed⦁ these charges in detail, demonstrating the legal impossibility of applying the “hooliganism” provision and emphasizing the political nature of the entire prosecution. Saghatelyan and Samsonyan were, in effect, subjected to criminal prosecution without a law.
⦁ In the early morning of November 13, 2025, under identical circumstances, Saghatelyan and Samsonyan were again arrested. As in the previous instance, the arrest was clearly intended to humiliate them. It was carried out by masked officers of the National Security Service (NSS), who twisted the podcasters’ arms and forced them to walk bent over, despite the absence of any resistance.
⦁ Simultaneously, law enforcement officers conducted a search at the Antifake office. According to the site’s editor, the officers seized all technical equipment belonging to the podcasters, including cameras, microphones, computers, and data storage devices.
⦁ During the same operation, NSS officers also detained Antifake journalist Davit Fidanyan. When asked why he was being taken away, Fidanyan replied, “according to them, because I opened the door too late.”
⦁ On November 14, Vazgen Saghatelyan and Narek Samsonyan were put under pre-trial detention for two months. At the time of this statement’s publication, Davit Fidanyan remains under arrest.
NATURE OF THE CHARGES
⦁ The criminal case against Saghatelyan and Samsonyan stems from alleged insults voiced during November 8 Episode (#223) of the Imnemnimi podcast. In that episode, Saghatelyan read aloud a Facebook post by Civil Contract party board member and Speaker of the National Assembly, Alen Simonyan, who had called the podcasters “sons of dogs.” In response, Saghatelyan used a similar insult (“son of a bitch”) toward Simonyan. On November 13, the podcasters were arrested again, as law enforcement authorities once more classified the use of insults as “hooliganism.”
⦁ The criminal complaint leading to their arrest was filed by Alen Simonyan himself. Notably, Simonyan has also initiated a separate civil lawsuit against Saghatelyan, seeking 2,000,000 AMD in moral damages for insults.
⦁ The established case law on the criminal provision of “hooliganism” is unambiguous. In case No. ԱՎԴ/0014/01/11 (Sh. Hakhverdyan), the Court of Cassation of Armenia ruled that “even if a gross disturbance of public order has occurred, if it is not manifested by an overtly disrespectful attitude toward society, it cannot be qualified as hooliganism.”
⦁ At the start of the podcast, the hosts had issued a clear disclaimer, warning that “the episode may contain sharp political criticism (including, in exceptional cases, the use of profanity or indecent language), expressed in the context of political outrage, protest, emotional reaction, sarcasm, or non-normative vocabulary.” By doing so, Saghatelyan and Samsonyan had adequately informed the audience about the possible use of such expressions during the podcast. Therefore, as in the 2024 case, “hooliganism” is inapplicable here, since no element of “overtly disrespectful attitude toward society” is present.
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Disclaimer shown at the beginning of the podcast, warning about potential profane language.
⦁ As noted earlier in the statement concerning the arbitrary detention of attorney A. Kochubaev, under Armenian law only judges and the Human Rights Defender enjoy criminal protection against insult and only when such insult is directly related to their official duties.
⦁ The language used by the podcasters was targeted and contextual, directed at a public official in response to similar offensive expressions made by the very same official. This exchange clearly falls within the scope of political discourse protected by the right to freedom of expression, not within criminal conduct.
CONCLUSION
⦁ In Armenia, the “double decriminalization” of insult has proven to be purely formal. In practice, insults are still being prosecuted under the guise of “online hooliganism.” The use of the “hooliganism” provision in such cases effectively circumvents the decriminalization.
⦁ According to the European Court of Human Rights, enhanced protection of freedom of expression extends not only to professional journalists. The role of a “public watchdog,” one of journalism’s key functions, also encompasses bloggers and active users of social media platforms. In the present case, however, the opposite logic is applied: podcasters Saghatelyan and Samsonyan are being persecuted even for an act that has been decriminalized.
⦁ It is also evident that the seizure of all journalistic equipment, including cameras, tripods and microphones, bears no relation to the charges, even if insult were still a criminal offense. The only conceivable purpose of confiscating journalistic property is to obstruct the future operation of Antifake.
⦁ Consequently, the detention of Saghatelyan, Samsonyan, and Fidanyan constitutes a textbook example of political persecution. The entire process lacks any legal basis and is therefore driven by the political views of the individuals involved, as well as by Antifake’s opposition stance. Beyond violating their rights to liberty and freedom of expression under Articles 5 and 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the authorities have also breached Article 18, which prohibits restrictions on rights for purposes not prescribed by the Convention.
⦁ Therefore, same as in 2024, the current detainees meet the criteria of not only political prisoners but also prisoners of conscience.
RECOMMENDATIONS
⦁ We call upon the addressees of this statement to urgently review, within the scope of their mandates, the unlawful criminal prosecution and detention of podcasters Vazgen Saghatelyan, Narek Samsonyan, and journalist Davit Fidanyan.
⦁ We further urge them to engage with the Armenian authorities and draw their attention to this matter.
The Armenian Center for Political Rights is a watchdog organization focusing on detecting, responding, and preventing political persecution and safeguarding political rights.
