EU faces legal action for `dismantling democracy` in Armenia

ArmInfo.Brussels ignored mass arrests, attacks on the Church, and electoral fraud to back Armenian PM, international lawyer Robert Amsterdam wrote in a Facebook post. 

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