Lidya Mantashyan is Armenia’s only female political prisoner.
On November 20, during a hearing at the Criminal Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan in the case involving Bagrat archbishop Galstyan and 17 others, Judge Karen Farkhoyan extended Mantashyan’s detention for an additional three months.
Mantashyan was arrested on June 26 and initially held for two months; every extension since then has kept her behind bars without substantive justification.
In contrast, the court has eased preventive measures for many of the male defendants in the same case. That disparity makes clear that Mantashyan’s continued detention serves as punishment rather than a legal necessity.
Armenia now has more than 60 political prisoners, including senior clergy, national benefactors, elected mayors, and parents of fallen soldiers. Mantashyan’s case is another example of the escalating pressure campaign against dissenting voices.
