During the April 15 sitting of the National Assembly, the draft law on making additions to the RA Criminal Code was fully adopted in its second reading, with 97 votes in favor, 14 against and 0 abstentions. It provides criminal liability for public calls for violence, public justification of violence or propaganda or hate speech.
According to the law, the act is punishable by a fine of fifty to one hundred times the minimum wage, or imprisonment for a maximum of two months or imprisonment for a maximum of one year.
“Media Advocate” initiative opposes hate speech and welcomes the government’s intention to restrict its dissemination, unless, it is used in favour of the authorities or those who have a different opinion from them. At the same time, we consider it necessary to emphasize that the RA legislation has a sufficient set of tools to prevent the spread of hate speech, if the judicial system works independently. Moreover, we sadly note that over the past two years we have witnessed the fact that the main disseminators of hate speech are actually the current authorities, which only deepens our concerns.
This law should not become a tool restricting the freedom of speech of the media. Problematic is also the fact that there is no clear definition of hate speech, which can lead to various interpretations and, in fact, misinterpretations. We urge for not subordinating the law to one’s own interests.
