Rule of Law Under Threat in Armenia's June Election, International Lawyers Write in Open Letter to EU Foreign Affairs Chief

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Amsterdam & Partners LLP, the international law firm acting for Samvel Karapetyan, leader of the of the newly formed Strong Armenia party, have today appealed to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas to intervene to ensure that elections set for June this year are not invalidated by heavy-handed official interference.

The letter was sent in response to Brussels' announcement that it would deploy a Hybrid Rapid Response Team to monitor the vote.

Failure to ensure that the Response Team benefits all parties, rather than the ruling party, would "risk the country's long-awaited European integration, including its bid to join the European Union", Robert Amsterdam, Founder and Managing Partner of Amsterdam & Partners LLP, has warned. He added that "the civil rights clampdown is brutal, targeting anyone who dares criticise the Pashinyan administration, including opposition mayors, religious leaders and anyone supporting them, namely Mr. Karapetyan. Indeed, the government itself may be the single greatest threat to a free and fair election".

In a letter to Ms. Kallas, Amsterdam highlights "serious and well documented concerns" and urges her to meet Mr Karapetyan as part of moves to ensure the poll is free and fair.

The legal intervention is backed by the International Observatory of Democracy of Armenia, which cites a series of authoritarian moves by Yerevan, suggesting that he intends to win at all costs.

Notably, the group has noted that "a deteriorating environment for political and civil rights in Armenia raises serious concerns" regarding the conditions necessary for a fair and free election.

The Observatory further identified patterns, including politically motivated detentions, interference with judicial independence, misuse of speech-related criminal provisions and the use of state institutions against perceived political opponents by the Armenian Government. It stated that "it is hard for Armenian authorities to insist that the election will be fair and free when the leading opposition leader remains under house arrest."

Mr. Karapetyan, seen as the leading opposition figure, is currently subject to restrictive measures during the pre-election period. He leads in polls across many areas of Armenia, including the nation's capital.

This comes as Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has spent months publicly denigrating and attacking Catholicos Karekin II, Head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, one of the oldest in the world. The Armenian state, which was the first ever to convert to Christianity, in 301 AD, has been rounding up clergy and the Church's high-profile supporters, as well as confiscating assets. Many of Armenia's bishops have been arrested by the authorities.

The Prime Minister has also said that he intends to seize control of Armenia's largest religious organisation, something that would violate Article 17 of the Constitution of Armenia.

In a statement, he confirmed that his government will take over the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church and replace it with a "real, pure, and state-centred Church" that would not be allowed to oppose the state interest.

Civil rights groups have denounced this latest instance of democratic backsliding in the region, decrying in particular the incumbent administration's instrumentalisation of law enforcement and the judiciary for narrow short-term political interests.

Amsterdam & Partners LLP is an international law firm based in London and Washington, DC, specialising in political advocacy and human rights. For more information, please visit www.amsterdamandpartners.com.