In August this year, the European Union published the 2025 Human Rights and Democracy in the World report, which did not receive sufficient attention in Armenia, writes Armen Ashotyan, Vice Chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia. “Therefore, I present to you excerpts from the report on Armenia (I will post a link to the full report in the comments). The EU’s silent stance towards the terror raging in Armenia is a bitter manifestation of realpolitik. For today’s Eurobureaucrats, human rights are not values, but a “good” to be bargained for. In the meantime, familiarize yourself with these assessments contained in the report and be sure that Brussels knows everything very well, and at the right moment they will immediately open the caskets of compromising material.
Civil society organizations have highlighted the ineffectiveness of investigations into abuses by police officers, particularly the disproportionate use of force, the lack of judicial independence, and the excessive use of detention as a preventive measure in criminal proceedings. In the justice sector, Armenia has continued reforms aimed at increasing integrity, accountability, and efficiency, but concerns remain about the transparency of the judicial appointment process and the practical application of integrity mechanisms.
The opposition and some civil society representatives have raised allegations of the instrumentalization of the criminal justice system, which threatens the punishment of dissent and undermines freedom of expression, including through the potential misuse of criminal law provisions on hooliganism. In the same context, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) targeting journalists, environmental activists, and human rights defenders remain a concern. The widespread use of detention remains problematic, as do deaths in penitentiary institutions, despite legislative amendments aimed at strengthening medical guarantees for persons deprived of their liberty. Concerns also persist about the treatment of military personnel and conditions of service, in particular deaths in non-combat situations, although their overall number has decreased. The Fifth National Anti-Corruption Strategy (2023–2026) provides a comprehensive framework, but it is not yet sufficiently risk-based and does not "Proposes targeted measures for sectors with high corruption risk, especially public procurement. Freedom for all political prisoners."
