Freedom House notes with concern the recent criminal case opened against a Facebook user who insulted Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in a comment.

This comes only two months after the Parliament passed amendments criminalizing “serious insults” against government officials, and signifies a clear degradation of democratic norms in Armenia, including freedom of _expression_, the human rights organization said in a statement on Tuesday.

"We call on the Armenian authorities to immediately cease enforcement of this unconstitutional legislation criminalizing defamation," it said.