We issued the following statement today after the National Assembly of Armenia approved on a second reading the decriminalization of defamation, including libel and insult. If signed into law, the amendments to Armenia’s penal and administrative code will remove imprisonment from the list of penalties for defamation; individuals found guilty of the offense would face a monetary fine as maximum punishment.
“We welcome today’s move by Armenia’s parliament to decriminalize defamation and call on President Serzh Sargsyan to sign the proposed amendments into law,” CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said. “Doing so would move Armenia one important step closer to its full-fledged integration into the international democratic community.”