Council of Europe issues alert over detention of journalists in Armenia
Today, the Council of Europe Platform for the Safety of Journalists issued an alert concerning the detention of Antifake.am podcasters Vazgen Saghatelyan and Narek Samsonyan, as well as the seizure of the outlet’s property, referring to the statement of the Armenian Center for Political Rights (ACPR). The alert is classified as Level 1, which denotes the most severe type of interference with media freedom.
The alert specifically notes the following։
On 13 November 2025, National Security Service (NSS) officers detained podcasters Vazgen Saghatelyan and Narek Samsonyan, co-hosts of the Imnemnimi political podcast on Antifake.am, as well as Antifake.am journalist Davit Fidanyan, who was later released. The arrests were carried out by masked NSS officers, who also conducted searches of the podcasters’ homes.
At the same time, NSS officers searched the Antifake.am premises, seizing technical and journalistic equipment, including cameras, microphones, computers, tripods and data storage devices.
The criminal case concerns remarks made during the 8 November episode of the podcast. Authorities have classified the expressions as “hooliganism committed by a group using information or communication technologies.” According to the podcasters and their lawyers, the remarks were political commentary in response to public insults previously made by the Speaker of the National Assembly. The Speaker has publicly stated that the episode also contained “threats.”
On 14 November, a court ordered two months of pre-trial detention for Saghatelyan and Samsonyan.
According to the Armenian Centre for Political Rights (ACPR), the application of the hooliganism provision circumvents Armenia’s decriminalisation of insult and does not meet the legal elements of hooliganism, including the requirement of an “overtly disrespectful attitude toward society.” The ACPR also notes that the seizure of all journalistic equipment is unrelated to the charges and obstructs the operation of Antifake.am. The organization considers the proceedings politically motivated and contrary to several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Follow-up actions expected
The Partner Organizations request that the Armenian authorities:
– Clarify the legal basis for applying hooliganism charges and for any alleged “threats” forming part of the case.
– Reassess the legality and necessity of the detention of Saghatelyan and Samsonyan, with a view to ensuring their release in line with the ECHR.
– Explain the seizure of Antifake.am’s journalistic equipment and return the equipment.
– Provide updates on the criminal proceedings and the conditions of detention.
The full statement can be found here.
