Brussels ignored mass arrests, attacks on the Church, and electoral fraud to back Armenian PM
Armenian PM failed to win majority of votes, despite EU interference
The European Union faces legal action over its support for Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, with Amsterdam & Partners LLP arguing that Brussels has helped legitimise a government undermining democratic institutions and fundamental rights.
In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the firm, serving as counsel to opposition leader Samvel Karapetyan, alleges that the EU has provided unconditional political support to Mr. Pashinyan despite a sustained campaign against political opponents, religious institutions and independent voices.
The letter explains that hundreds of politically motivated arrests have been carried out under the current government and that the EU has continued to support Pashinyan despite being aware of growing concerns over the treatment of opposition figures, clergy and civil society critics.
The firm insists that the EU has turned a blind eye to the government’s campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church, one of the country’s most important national institutions, while continuing to present Armenia as a democratic success story.
Brussels has failed to uphold its own legal obligations and democratic standards by endorsing an election that remains subject to serious constitutional challenges and by refusing to apply the same scrutiny it routinely demands elsewhere.
The constitutional challenge forms part of the effort by the main opposition party, Strong Armenia, to exhaust every available domestic legal remedy. However, Aram Vardevanyan, who leads Mr. Karapetyan’s legal efforts in local courts, has stressed that pursuing those proceedings should not be interpreted as confidence in the independence of the institutions responsible for deciding them.
“The Constitutional Court must be independent, fearless, and maintain political neutrality,” Mr. Vardevanyan said, adding that “the fundamental question is whether the Constitutional Court today meets those criteria.”
Mr. Vardevanyan also stated that while Strong Armenia is committed to pursuing the legal process in full, it remains deeply concerned that the institutions responsible for adjudicating the election challenge lack the independence required by Armenia’s Constitution.
The letter also alleges that EU officials engaged almost exclusively with the Armenian government while failing to maintain meaningful dialogue with opposition parties and other dissenting voices, thus selecting a preferred political outcome before the election had been scrutinised.
Despite the EU’s intervention and irregularities on the part of the authorities, Mr. Pashinyan failed to secure the support of most voters. Even with extensive international backing, the government was unable to obtain even half of the vote, with most voters casting their ballots for the opposition.
Robert Amsterdam, Founder and Managing Partner of Amsterdam & Partners LLP, states:
“The European Union has not acted as a neutral observer. It has chosen to align itself with a government that has overseen widespread arrests, targeted its critics, attacked the Church and weakened democratic safeguards.
“Brussels cannot claim to be a defender of democracy while ignoring these abuses and refusing to engage seriously with opposition voices. The EU’s actions have helped shield this government from accountability.
“In claiming to resist Russian interference, Ms. Von der Leyen has instead led a campaign of interference, hypocrisy and damage to the rule of law. The behaviour of the European Union tarnishes every principle it claims to stand for and places the very existence of Armenia in jeopardy.”
Amsterdam & Partners LLP is an international law firm specialised in political advocacy and human rights. For more information, please visit www.amsterdamandpartners.com.
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