YEREVAN, Armenia — Concern is mounting among human rights defenders and many of Armenia’s religious minority communities about proposed amendments to several laws imposing new restrictions on and punishments for religious activity.
The state would conduct a “theological expert examination” before granting registration to religious communities, while those that fail to provide full information about all their activities could be liquidated. Sharing faith is a particular target, with penalties for violations of up to three months’ imprisonment.
“If adopted, they will create two kinds of citizens in Armenia — those of the Armenian Apostolic Church on one side, and then the rest,” Pastor Rene Leonian of the Evangelical Church told Forum 18 News Service (F18). “It is difficult for us to accept in an independent and democratic state that there can be two classes of citizen.” The amendments, prepared by the Justice Ministry, only became known when placed on the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission website Nov. 30.
“Such secrecy and silence is unacceptable,” Larisa Minasyan of Armenia’s Open Society Foundation told F18.
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