Armenia
Opinion | High stakes for Armenian democracy in rights defender’s trial
The case against Sashik Sultanyan is based on bogus charges of ‘inciting ethnic hatred’. If the Yazidi human rights defender is convicted, it could have a chilling effect on the work of all rights defenders in Armenia. Public engagement is a key tool human rights defenders everywhere use to try to influence governments to be more rights-friendly. Sometimes it is the only tool we have. This also means publicly criticising the authorities, and in a democracy, the officials are required to toler