In her written replies the EU ambassador referred to the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights of the Council of Europe, stressing that Armenia is a member of the Council of Europe.
She stressed that a law which interferes with freedom of expression “must be narrowly and precisely circumscribed so that it is legally predictable and certain.”
“But most importantly, the question is whether the law is implemented in a democratic and non-arbitrary manner, on the basis of objective criteria, subject to independent judicial control, where the judges consider the proportionality of the sanction. Should the insult amount to hate speech, which is speech likely to produce the effect of legitimizing, spreading or promoting violence, racial hatred, xenophobia, antisemitism or other forms of discrimination or hatred based on intolerance, arguably sanctions or restrictions can be more severe,” the EU diplomat said.
Asked whether the EU Delegation to Armenia shares the concerns of local and international human rights groups regarding this legislation, Wiktorin said that the EU Delegation is closely monitoring the situation and, together with colleagues in Brussels, “does its own legal analyses.”
The ambassador also said that they had “a general consultation” with Armenia’s Prosecutor-General Artak Davtian earlier this month rather than discussed only the law on grave insults. “We talked about a number of issues and had a very profound and detailed discussion. I am convinced he takes the issue very seriously,” Wiktorin said.
Under amendments to the Armenian Criminal Code voted for by only pro-government lawmakers and enacted last summer anyone insulting government officials and public figures risks paying hefty fines or going to jail for up to three months.
Opposition members and human rights activists in Armenia have criticized the authorities for adopting the measure, describing it as an infringement of free speech.
A number of international organizations, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, have called on Armenia to decriminalize “grave insults.” The U.S. democracy watchdog Freedom House has repeatedly said that the passage and enforcement of the controversial law highlighted a “clear degradation of democratic norms” in Armenia.
Armenian authorities have defended the controversial law. Meeting with the EU ambassador on March 3, Armenia’s Prosecutor-General Davtian said that the law is necessary for “reducing or neutralizing the scale and impact of hate speech.”
Armenia’s Constitutional Court on March 22 began considering the constitutionality of the legislation following a claim lodged by the country’s ombudsperson. The court said that the examination of the claim proceeds in writing.