Freedom House notes with great concern the first criminal conviction of an Armenian citizen under the new provision of the Criminal Code criminalizing “serious insults” against government officials, it said in a statement.

“The enforcement of this legislation, which has resulted in the initiation of over 260 criminal cases in 2022 alone, signifies a clear degradation of democratic norms in Armenia and creates a chilling effect for free _expression_.

“We call on the parliament to revoke this law that so brazenly violates the principles enshrined in the Armenian Constitution, the country’s OSCE commitments and the European Convention on Human rights to which it is party,” reads the statement.