Human rights activists considered the actions of security forces against Artur Osipyan to be disproportionate.

The detention and request for the arrest of activist and refugee from Nagorno-Karabakh Artur Osipyan after a dispute with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan demonstrates the disproportionate actions of security forces and the use of selective justice, human rights activists said.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in response to questions from refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan resorted to insults and threats during meetings with voters. After this, clinic employee Armine Soghoyan, who asked a question about the casualties in the Karabakh wars, was offered to resign, and Karabakh activist Artur Osipyan was detained on suspicion of hooliganism after an altercation with the prime minister.

Lawyer  Roman Yeritsyan reported that investigators charged Osipyan with hooliganism, obstructing election campaigning, and public calls for violence – Articles 330,  297,  211 of the Criminal Code of Armenia. The investigation also filed a motion with the court to place Osipyan under arrest.

Human rights activists concerned about Osipyan's persecution

The Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly  stated that "the restriction of freedom applied to Artur Osipyan must be immediately reviewed, and if there are no legitimate grounds, terminated."

The response of law enforcement agencies did not come in the form of a proportionate and impartial assessment of the entire incident.

"We note with alarm the response of law enforcement agencies in connection with the incident that took place during the election campaign in the administrative district Arabkir in Yerevan, as well as the arrest process carried out within its framework. According to video materials and publications available in the public space, Artur Osipyan addressed the head of government with political criticism, which was responded to with personal and degrading expressions, including the remark: "He should have gone and died...". Particularly concerning is the fact that the response of law enforcement did not come in the form of a proportionate and impartial assessment of the entire incident, but was limited to the application of a preventive measure in the form of imprisonment against Osipyan," the human rights activists emphasized.

They noted that several marchers, using force, removed Osipyan from the crowd, attempted to strike him, and that offensive language was voiced by supporters of the prime minister, but there has been no proportionate legal response. "The action taken against Osipyan could have been motivated not so much by an objective assessment of the alleged offense, but by his harsh political criticism of the Prime Minister," the human rights activists conclude.

The Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly emphasizes that "in a state governed by the rule of law, the actions of law enforcement agencies must comply with the principles of equality, proportionality, and political neutrality."

"We believe that the restriction of freedom applied to Artur Osipyan should be immediately reviewed and, if there are no legitimate grounds, terminated." At the same time, state bodies are obliged to publicly record possible violations committed and restore the violated rights of the citizen, including, if necessary, by issuing an appropriate public apology,” the statement reads.

NGOs called for Osipyan’s release

A statement regarding the illegal and selective criminal prosecution of Artur Osipyan was distributed by a number of public organizations - “Protection of Rights Without Borders”, “Journalists for Human Rights”, “For Equal Rights”, Public Journalism Club, MediaStep, the Armenian Committee of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly, the Regional Center for Democracy and Security, the “Human Rights Research Center”, the Yerevan Press Club, “New Culture of Justice”, the “Center for Public Consolidation and Support”, the Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly, Helsinki NGO Association. They condemned the "obviously illegal, unfounded, and politically motivated criminal prosecution and imprisonment of Artur Osipyan."

Furthermore, the motion to apply arrest as a preventive measure filed with the court is illegal, disproportionate, and condemnable, as it is used to restrict a person's public speech and activities and to punish them, rather than on the grounds provided by law.  The text notes that "Artur Osipyan's publicly known actions, including the dispute with Nikol Pashinyan, touching upon and publicly raising topics of public importance, as well as the publication on social media, fully fall under the protection of the right to freedom of speech as critical expression."

We document the implementation of selective justice by law enforcement agencies - the Prosecutor's Office and the Investigative Committee - based on on political expediency

“We once again document the implementation by law enforcement agencies - the Prosecutor's Office and the Investigative Committee - of selective justice based on political expediency, exclusively in defense of representatives of the ruling political force. Otherwise, a criminal-legal assessment would have been given to the public statements of the ruling political force and Nikol Pashinyan personally, which apparently contain hate speech, public calls for violence and threats, including threats to torture persons in custody, both in the context of this episode and in the context of incidents that occurred in previous days,” the signatories state.

Public organizations demanded that the Prosecutor General's Office and the Investigative Committee of Armenia “immediately release Artur Osipyan from custody and terminate the criminal prosecution against him, exclude illegal or selective criminal prosecutions, including eliminating the illegal and disproportionate use of criminal law instruments within the electoral process in order to silence critical statements addressed to the ruling political force."

Osipyan detained for criticism

"Artur Osipyan's actions do not constitute hooliganism or any other criminal offense," said Daniel Ioannisyan, coordinator of the Union of Informed Citizens.

"Artur Osipyan made political criticism of Nikol Pashinyan, who was running as a candidate at the time, and in response received personal statements of a degrading nature, including the phrase: "It would have been better if he had gone and died...". It is extremely alarming that The law enforcement agencies' response did not include a proportionate and impartial assessment of the entire incident, but merely the imposition of a custodial measure against Osipyan. Meanwhile, during the same incident, no equivalent or significant action was taken against other individuals who apparently displayed aggressive behavior and made offensive statements, including supporters of the ruling political party. These circumstances create reasonable suspicions that the actions taken against Osipyan could have been motivated by his harsh political criticism of the Prime Minister," Ioannisyan noted.

"Law enforcement agencies are obliged to immediately provide a public explanation: on what factual grounds Osipyan was detained, whether the actions of the other participants in the incident were assessed, and why the same or proportionate measures were not taken against them," he emphasized.

"Considering In view of the above, we, within the framework of the Independent Observer alliance, demand that the restriction on Artur Osipyan’s freedom be immediately lifted, and that the competent authorities issue a public apology if it turns out that the interference against him was disproportionate, selective, or conditioned by political criticism,” Ioannisyan said.

In the political struggle, refugees have become the target of politicians

The Public Council of Nagorno-Karabakh also issued a statement, where it noted that “within the framework of pre-election processes in Armenia, the political manifestations of the ruling forces go beyond the framework of civilized and democratic formats.”

“The Artsakh Public Council strongly condemns the hate speech generated by the authorities and disseminated in the public space during pre-election processes, which is often accompanied by threats, labeling and dangerous examples of deepening hostility and division between various groups in society. It is particularly alarming that in the context of the political struggle, forcibly displaced Artsakh residents are once again becoming a target - attempts are being made to present "their source of domestic political tension or to use their image for provocative purposes. Such a style of action is not only unacceptable, but also dangerous, given the existing sensitivities within Armenian society and security challenges," the statement reads.

As a reminder, the Central Election Commission of Armenia registered all 19 political forces that applied to participate in the parliamentary elections. On May 14, the Central Election Commission annulled the registration of 45 candidates for deputies of the Armenian parliament who submitted statements of self-withdrawal, including candidates included in the lists of "Wings of Unity" and "Bright Armenia".

Samvel Karapetyan's "Strong Armenia", along with Robert Kocharyan's "Armenia" bloc and Gagik Tsarukyan's "Prosperous Armenia" party, is one of the most pro-Russian parties in the Armenian parliamentary elections. "Caucasian The "node" has prepared a report "2026 Elections to the National Assembly (Parliament) of Armenia".

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