“You are encouraging authoritarianism in Armenia”: Menua Soghomonyan addresses von der Leyen

At a protest held in Yerevan under the slogan “Freedom for political prisoners!”, Menua Soghomonyan, a member of the national civic association “HayaQve,” sharply criticized the double standards of the international community and European institutions, addressing his remarks to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who had arrived in Armenia.

Soghomonyan stressed that the current stance of the head of an institution that has taken on the mission of “protecting democracy and human rights” does not match its declared values.

“We came here to protest the fact that the President of the European Commission, one of the institutions that has taken on the mission of protecting human rights and democratic ideals in the world, Ursula von der Leyen, is here shaking hands and lavishing praise on a man who has filled Armenia’s prisons with political prisoners. Ms. von der Leyen, today, with your visit here, with this diplomatic gesture, you are encouraging authoritarianism in Armenia. You are encouraging the arrest of people for freedom of speech, for freedom of opinion. Freedom of speech is not a crime,” Soghomonyan said.