In December 2023, the Human Rights Defender published a
study on the investigation of cases of incitement to hatred and calls to violence in the criminal justice system of Armenia.
The domestic practice of investigating incitement to hatred and calls to violence provided for by the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia was analysed, the existing problems were highlighted and recommendations for their solution were presented.
17 of the 19 criminal proceedings studied referred to the alleged cases of calls for violence, promotion or justification of violence on the grounds of the victim's "political or other views" or "public activity". As to the other two criminal proceedings, the persons were accused in one case of inciting national, and in the other, of inciting national and religious enmity.
The analysis of international standards, including the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, highlighted key factors that law enforcement bodies and courts should consider when investigating hate speech cases. It also evaluated the extent to which these factors are taken into account in practice.
The study was carried out jointly with the Institute of Liberal Politics NGO, within the framework of the "Combating hate speech for the sake of pluralism and tolerant democratic society" project, which is implemented with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Armenia. The study was conducted by an expert.
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