Robert Amsterdam warns EC over interference in Armenian democratic  process

ArmInfo. Robert Amsterdam, founder and managing partner of Amsterdam & Partners LLP and attorney for Strong Armenia party leader Samvel Karapetyan, has urged the European Union suspend the deployment and activities of the Hybrid Rapid Response Team (HRRT) to Armenia, as stated  in a formal legal complaint he has sent to EU leadership, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

In its letter to von der Leyen, Amsterdam recalled that he represents  the interests of businessman Samvel Karapetyan. "As you read  this  letter, my client remains subject to political persecution, which the  European Commission has not only failed to condemn but is actively  funding.

I will be blunt: what the European Union is doing in Armenia is not  democratic asisistance. It is electoral interference. The deployment  of a Hybrid Rapid Response Team (HRRT) operating exclusively with the  government, the channeling  of millions of euros of European public  funds without the slightest guarantee of neutrality, and an  unprincipled reform of the Electoral Code designated specifically to  exclude the use of personal names in blocs of electoral alliances,  are a pattern we have seen before," the lawyer noted.

He added that the hastily adopted amendments to the Electoral Code by  the ruling party in Armenia marked a turning point and once again  demonstrates the application of double standards. Amsterdam added  that when he wrote to the President of the European Parliament  warning of the criminal prosecution of his client, the arrests of his  lawyers, and the imprisonment of clergy, the response from the EU  Delegation to Armenia was that "these are matters within the  competence of the Armenian authorities."

"Not a single word of condemnation. Not a single sign of concern. We  were told these were 'internal matters.' However, when it comes to  deploying a rapid response team to shape the electoral agenda,  allocating 27 million EUR to 'fight disinformation' (which  coincidentally aligns with the opposition's rhetoric), and exporting  the 'Moldovan model' three months before the elections, then yes,  Armenia ceases to be an internal matter and becomes a European  affair. The criminalization of the opposition is Armenia's problem,  while interference in elections in favor of a government that  criminalizes the opposition is a European project. These are the  Commission's double standards, and this letter officially points this  out," Amsterdam stated. He reiterated that days earlier, the Armenian  authorities amended the Electoral Code immediately before the  elections, banning the use of personal names in  electoral blocs.  According to the lawyer, this is not a procedural reform: it is a  legislative trap specifically designed to target Samvel Karapetyan  and the "Strong Armenia" bloc. "When a government, fearing genuine  competition, resorts to legislatively excluding its opponents'  identities from the election campaign itself, the international  community must recognize this for what it is: political sabotage and  the ultimate destruction of free and fair elections," the legal  expert added.

In this vein, he added that the deployment of the Hybrid Rapid  Response Team to Armenia, funded through the NDICI-Global Europe  instrument with a budget of 27 million euros, supposedly aimed at  combating "hybrid threats," is in reality a mechanism for direct  interference in Armenia's domestic political arena, creating a clear  and structural imbalance between the ruling government and the  opposition. "The mechanism operates by securitizing opposition  discourse. When the Commission dispatches a team tasked with  monitoring 'public narratives' during the pre-election period, it  introduces a conceptual framework to Armenia-the concept of a 'hybrid  threat'-that allows it to view the political opposition as an  extension of Russian interference. This framework requires no proof  that the opposition is a tool of Moscow; it suffices to use  security-focused terminology to reclassify legitimate political  opinions as a threat to national security. As a result, the debate  about the opposition's legitimacy is transferred from the democratic  sphere to the security sphere, where the standards of evidence are  lower and the powers that be have greater leeway," Amsterdam asserts.

He emphasized that Pashinyan's government is already using the  Russian interference argument to justify the criminal prosecution of  the opposition and the clergy. By providing this government with a  European team specializing in "countering disinformation," the  Commission is not combating external threats, but rather lending  supranational legitimacy to the ruling government's repressive  narratives. "Ultimately, there is no mechanism that would prevent the  Armenian government from using the European team to discredit, as  'Russian propaganda,' the discourse of an opposition that simply  disagrees with government policy. The asymmetry is structural and  unjustified: the government receives European funding, which it can  use to strengthen its electoral position, while the opposition not  only lacks such funding but is also an indirect target of the actions  this funding supports. The opposition was not consulted when  developing this action.  An independent oversight mechanism was not  established. Objective and publicly accessible criteria for  classifying content as 'disinformation' were not published," the  lawyer continued.

At the same time, he expressed conviction that the Commission's  silence regarding the recent amendments to Armenia's Electoral Code  is also unacceptable, and the ban on the use of personal names in   electoral blocs, introduced immediately before the elections, is a  legislative trap designed to neutralize Samvel Karapetyan and the  "Strong Armenia" bloc. "The rules of the game are being changed  mid-game to force specific individuals out of politics. This isn't  democracy. This is legal terror, and the fact that the Commission  doesn't condemn it, while simultaneously deepening cooperation with  the responsible government, makes the Commission complicit in the  destruction of Armenian democracy. We will not allow legislation to  become a punitive instrument. "We will challenge this illegality on  every possible platform," Amsterdam stated.

In light of all of the above, the lawyer demanded that the European  Commission immediately suspend the deployment and activities of the  Hybrid Rapid Response Team in Armenia until independent and  transparent oversight mechanisms, including the participation of  opposition representatives, are established.  Furthermore, the  Commission must publish a detailed operational mandate for the team,  the criteria used to classify content as "disinformation," and the  appeal mechanisms available to those affected by its decisions;  conduct an independent assessment of the impact of the 27 million EUR  allocation on the balance of political competition in Armenia and  suspend payments until this assessment is completed; publicly condemn  amendments to Armenia's Electoral Code prohibiting the use of  individuals' names in electoral blocs as interference in free and  fair elections; and, ultimately, apply to Armenia the same standards  of conditionality for respect for the rule of law that the EU applies  to its member states and condition continued cooperation on the  release of politically motivated detainees and an end to the  persecution of opposition figures, clergy, and lawyers.

"Should the Commission fail to take appropriate and timely action in  response to the above demands, we hereby formally notify that we will  take the following legal action: filing an annulment action under  Article 263 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union  (TFEU) in the General Court of the European Union challenging the  financial execution acts allocating funds from NDICI-Global Europe to  the operation in Armenia, as well as an injunction action seeking the  immediate suspension of the deployment and disbursement of funds on  the grounds that damages have not been claimed but have already  materialized in similar circumstances in Moldova and Romania,"  Amsterdam said.

He added that they are prepared to engage in any other proceedings  that may be necessary in international fora, including, but not  limited to, the European Court of Human Rights, to protect the rights  of the Armenian opposition and hold the European Union accountable  for its role in undermining democracy in Armenia. "The European Union  does not act as a neutral guarantor of democracy in Armenia. It is an  active participant in creating a favorable electoral environment for  the ruling government. Justice is not for sale, and democracy cannot  be a one-way street. We will challenge this illegality on every  possible platform and hold the Commission accountable for its  complicity in the destruction of Armenian democracy," he concluded.

Earlier, the EU announced it would allocate 15 million EUR to Armenia  to combat hybrid threats in response to a request for assistance from  the Armenian authorities.