Armenia has been included for the first time in the Council of Europe’s annual report Press Freedom in 2025 among countries where journalists and media actors are currently deprived of liberty. The report is issued by the Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists, which monitors serious threats to media freedom across Europe.
In the report, Armenia is listed among European countries where journalists are currently imprisoned:
• Russia — 58
• Azerbaijan — 36
• Belarus — 27
• Turkey — 24
• Armenia — 2
• Georgia — 1
Armenia’s inclusion is linked to the pre-trial detention of two opposition podcasters, Vazgen Saghatelyan and Narek Samsonyan.
They were arrested in connection with statements made during an episode of their Imnemnimi podcast that featured former President Serzh Sargsyan and included sharply worded remarks directed at Alen Simonyan, a member of Pashinyan’s inner circle. Authorities opened a criminal case under Armenia’s hooliganism provision, arguing that specific statements made during the broadcast constitute criminal conduct.
The defense rejects the charges as politically motivated, maintaining that the case stems from the podcasters’ outspoken criticism of Pashinyan’s government and members of his inner circle, and that the prosecution represents an attempt to criminalize protected political speech.
Media freedom advocates have questioned the proportionality of applying a hooliganism charge to speech-related conduct. Insult and defamation were decriminalized in Armenia in 2010, but criminal liability for certain forms of insult was reintroduced in 2021 through amendments adopted under Pashinyan’s government.
A Yerevan court initially ordered two months of pre-trial detention and later extended it by three months. After the extension, Samsonyan declared an open-ended hunger strike. His health worsened significantly, and he was later transferred to house arrest. He has since appeared in court in a wheelchair.
This marks the first time Armenia has been formally categorized by European monitoring institutions as a state jailing media representatives, reflecting a significant shift in international assessments of press freedom in the country.
