Commission for the Rights of Politically Persecuted Persons Established in Armenia: Opposition and Rights Activists Announce Consolidation Against “Policy of Eliminating Opponents”
14.07.2026
A new independent public initiative, the Commission for the Rights of Politically Persecuted Persons, has been established in Armenia. Its members presented the organization at their first press conference on July 14, stating that following the 2018 change of power, the country saw the systematic subjugation of the judicial system, the suppression of dissent, and the unprecedented persecution of the opposition. According to them, against the backdrop of the virtual inaction of most traditional human rights organizations—which they claim have come to serve the interests of the authorities—the new entity intends to document cases of political persecution, build public immunity, and utilize international oversight mechanisms to restrain the repressive apparatus.
Opening the press conference, Armenia’s first Human Rights Defender, Larisa Alaverdyan, accused the authorities of distorting concepts. “We are faced with a shameful reality where the authorities use terms like ‘hate speech’ to mask a phenomenon long classified in political science as ‘internal racism.’ Today, any dissenter is perceived by the ruling power not as an opponent necessary for the functioning of democracy, but as a direct enemy. This atmosphere of hostility has already penetrated the level of families, relatives, and friends. Society must consolidate to put an end to this new wave of 21st-century vendetta, whose victims are political prisoners persecuted due to the personal motives of the authorities,” Alaverdyan noted.
The theme of the international dimension of the problem was continued by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Dzunik Aghajanyan. According to her assessment, most reputable civil society organizations are currently inactive, effectively giving the authorities a green light to increase and tighten repressions. However, the country’s obligations under international treaties and the proper use of existing institutions can serve as a powerful deterrent. “We need to convey alternative information to international partners and Western embassies, since they currently operate exclusively on one-sided reports from the authorities. Revealing the real picture will help moderate the appetites of the authorities, who are trying to turn society into a weak-willed, compliant mass,” Aghajanyan explained.
A harsh assessment of the ongoing events was delivered by Anna Mkrtchyan, a Member of Parliament of the outgoing convocation and Candidate of Legal Sciences. “Repression and physical violence in Armenia pursue a single goal: to completely silence freedom of speech. Under Pashinyan’s regime, a chapter of political assassinations has effectively opened in the country, where opponents of the government die in prisons or immediately after winning local elections. These persecutions did not start yesterday; they have been systematically developing since 2018 under the guise of slogans about fighting the ‘former [regime].’ Today, even schoolchildren participating in church liturgies are being placed under arrest. The only way to protect citizens’ rights in conditions where the regime’s punitive methods are only becoming more sophisticated is to build a strong public immunity through such independent initiatives,” Mkrtchyan emphasized.
Members of the public initiative spoke to journalists, stating that under conditions of severe pressure on the opposition and civil society, they are taking political prisoners under their protection and intend to convey the truth about what is happening in Armenia to international bodies.
Continuing the discussion, Elinar Vardanyan, a Member of Parliament of the outgoing convocation from the “Armenia” bloc and a member of the “Alternative Projects” group, drew attention to the atmosphere of total fear in which opposition figures and ordinary citizens face the threat of persecution on a daily basis. “The authorities are systematically isolating opposition leaders—Gagik Tsarukyan, Andranik Tevanyan, and Avetik Chalabyan are under arrest, and Armen Ashotyan is subject to criminal prosecution. Of particular concern is the case of lawyer Gagik Sargsyan, whose property security forces subjected to an unprecedented 13-hour search. The regime is ready to trample on any rights—from personal freedom to the right to work and social security. Our commission will engage in the detailed collection of data on all persecuted individuals in order to protect their rights and return Armenia to the constitutional order,” Vardanyan emphasized.
A detailed analysis of the reasons behind the ongoing events was provided by political analyst Yervand Bozoyan, who pointed out a fundamental difference between the current wave of persecution and what had been happening in the country over the past thirty years. “Under previous leaders, Armenia had a system of external checks and balances because the country pursued a balanced foreign policy, and Western partners did not allow mass repressions. Today, however, geopolitics has come to the forefront. For the sake of their own interests, Western institutions not only turn a blind eye to Pashinyan’s actions but, in fact, encourage them. Having received a carte blanche, the regime established sole control over the parliament, the courts, and the Constitutional Court. Our task is to unmask the international structures that are silently complicit in the destruction of democracy,” Bozoyan emphasized.
Human rights activist Hovhannes Ishkhanyan pointed to the regional context of the problem and the double standards of international mediators. He noted that the number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan has reached a record 375 people; however, during recent visits by European officials—Ursula von der Leyen and Kaja Kallas—this topic was completely ignored. According to him, European structures are blindly promoting the so-called “peace process” to the detriment of human rights. Ishkhanyan stressed that, in fact, both Armenian and Azerbaijani political prisoners have become “hostages of peace,” while the Aliyev and Pashinyan regimes operate using similar methods. In conclusion, he added that the commission intends to fight against this authoritarian system, restoring priority to the real protection of human rights.
A new independent public initiative, the Commission for the Rights of Politically Persecuted Persons, has been established in Armenia. Its members presented the organization at their first press conference on July 14, stating that following the 2018 change of power, the country saw the systematic subjugation of the judicial system, the suppression of dissent, and the unprecedented persecution of the opposition. According to them, against the backdrop of the virtual inaction of most traditional human rights organizations—which they claim have come to serve the interests of the authorities—the new entity intends to document cases of political persecution, build public immunity, and utilize international oversight mechanisms to restrain the repressive apparatus.
