Armenia Criminalizes Calls and Actions to Renounce its Sovereignty

YEREVAN — By a vote of 59 to 31 abstentions Armenia’s National Assembly has passed today in the second and final reading a set of amendments to the Criminal Code, which criminalize actions aimed at renouncing or restricting, fully or partially, the country’s sovereignty by using or threatening to use violence.

Public calls for renunciation of sovereignty have been also criminalized.

Under the changes, violent actions aimed at limiting Armenia’s sovereignty “in favor of another state or international or supranational organization” are punishable by prison sentences of between 10 and 15 years, while public calls from a fine to up to 3 years of imprisonment.

If the calls were made through mass media or using an information technology, the punishment would be imprisonment of 2 to 5 years.