UN Questions Armenia's Terrorism Charges Against Opposition
Government frames opposition as a national security threat
Six United Nations human rights experts have raised concerns about Armenia's prosecution of Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan and 17 associates on terrorism and attempted coup charges. The defendants led the Holy Struggle movement, which organized mass protests in 2024 against Armenia's border agreement with Azerbaijan and demanded Prime Minister Pashinyan's resignation.
The UN experts questioned whether Armenia's counterterrorism legislation is being applied so broadly that ordinary political opposition and civil disobedience are being criminalized as national security threats. The government says it obtained evidence through surveillance and intercepted communications showing the movement planned strikes and attempted to paralyze state institutions.
Defense lawyers allege prosecutors selectively released portions of intercepted conversations while preventing the defense from presenting recordings where movement members rejected violence. The case raises fundamental questions about the distinction between political dissent and terrorism prosecution.
