Political scientist Suren Surenyants on his Facebook pagewrites.
Punishing for speech is becoming the "norm" of the government. lawyer was arrested.
Lawyer Alexander Kochubaev, who criticized the investigators, judges and prosecutors on the social network, was arrested today from the court yard of Shengavit.
A criminal prosecution was initiated against him under the 2nd part of Article 490 of the RA Criminal Code on the charge of "publishing defamatory information about officials".
This story is a litmus test that reveals the legal and political situation of our country.
Regardless of whether Kochubaev's post is acceptable or not, it remains in the field of freedom of speech. Depriving a citizen of his freedom to express an opinion means finally undermining the foundations of a democratic state.
A lawyer is the last hope of protecting a citizen's rights in the judicial system. When the lawyer becomes the target of pressure from the government, it is a message to the entire legal institution under the threat of being silent or being persecuted.
The Bar Institute is one of the unique structures operating independently of the government. The pressure on it is clearly aimed at the final "seizure" of the justice system in order to establish full control of the legal framework.
When a journalist is tried for "spreading false information", a clergyman for "calls for usurpation of power", and a lawyer for criticism, dissent actually turns into a crime. This is no longer an isolated episode, but a consistent process of replacing democracy with an authoritarian model.
The case of Alexander Kochubaev is not a private story.
This is a wake-up call to all people who still believe they can speak freely and be protected by the law.
The protection of the right to express opinion and speech is important, especially in the context of the 2026 parliamentary elections."
