It is no longer a secret to anyone that there is racial discrimination against Yazidis in Armenian society. The Yazidis no longer hide that they are discriminated against in all areas. They say that they were in a difficult situation not only under Serzh Sargsyan’s rule, but also under Nikol Pashinyan’s rule now. Most recently, an interview with Yazidi human rights activist Sashik Sultanyan in an Iraqi news agency was misinterpreted, and the far-right provocateur Armenians used this interview to accuse him of an anti-state conspiracy. If Sultanyan, who is currently being questioned in court, is found guilty, he will face three to six years in prison for ‘inciting ethnic hatred’ and will soon be jailed.

Faktyoxla Lab. has mentioned several times before that the Yazidis in Armenia are in a difficult situation. Since the trial process of Sashik Sultanyan, the chair of Yezidi Center of Human Rights NGO, has been going on for the last month, we have investigated the issue again.

Prosecutors accuse Sashik Sultanyan of ‘inciting ethnic enmity between Yazidis, a predominantly Kurdish-speaking religious group, and Armenians.’

The investigation against Sultanyan was launched in October 2020, following an interview he gave to Yezidinews.am in June 2020. He was banned from leaving Armenia for six months (source).

In the interview, Sultanyan said that Yazidis are discriminated against, their rights are not protected, they cannot develop their culture, language and practice their religion.

In addition, Sultanyan claimed that Yazidis were underrepresented in local government structures, that Armenians seized Yazidi properties and that the community was not allowed to develop economically.

Prosecutors argue that Sultanyan’s statements do not fall within the scope of human rights advocacy and protected speech, because ‘all the allegations made in the interview do not correspond to the truth.’

Sultanyan claims that what he said in the interview was directed at the government, not the Armenian people. The interview was deleted from the website the day it was published at his request.

During the hearing held on November 24, Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor advocates Arayik Zalyan and Samson Galstyan have undertaken protection of Sashik Sultanyan’s rights in court, advocate Ara Ghazaryan has also been involved.

At the last hearing, Sashik Sultanyan’s defenders first petitioned to remove “signature regarding not leaving” measure of restraint applied to the defendant. Despite the defenders’ substantiations, the Court turned down the petition. However, the Court upheld the petition to give a permission to leave the Republic of Armenia in order to participate in the UN Forum on Minority Issues. 

The defenders then petitioned to suspend the criminal case proceedings and apply to the Constitutional Court regarding the constitutionality of Article 226 of the Criminal Code. The Court decided to examine the petition later, after examining the evidence.

The Court then started the trial phase. Accusing Prosecutor A. Karapetyan presented the concluding part of the charge. Sashik Sultanyan mentioned that it was not clear to him what he was charged with: statements attributed to him in the charge are presented incorrectly, the translation was not done properly. He also added that his statements were not made publicly, it was a conversation, and after it was published, he immediately demanded and had the publication removed from the website.

Sashik Sultanyan also stated that he did not consider himself guilty in the charge filed against him. (Source)

The court session was postponed and rescheduled for January 26, 2022.

Unlawful criminal prosecution against Sashik Sultanyan was denounced by Armenian human rights organizations and civil society representatives, as well as international reputable human rights organizations. Besides, the RA Human Rights Defender also expressed his concern.

The CoE Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic applied to the RA Prosecutor General to get clarifications regarding Sashik Sultanyan’s case.

On November 18, Dunja Mijatovic addressed the Armenian Prosecutor General’s Office to get clarifications regarding criminal prosecution against human rights activist Sashik Sultanyan. In her letter addressed to the RA Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan, she particularly drew his attention to the fact that international and local human rights actors, including Special Rapporteurs of the UN, had already denounced prosecution against Sashik Sultanyan.

“This is all the more important when such legitimate speech addresses the treatment of minorities and is aimed at protecting and promoting their rights,” he said. (source)

In June, Human Rights Watch also urged Armenian authorities to drop the charges against Sultanyan, saying that freedom of expression of his views is protected (source).

UN human rights defenders, special rapporteurs on freedom of expression and minority issues also called on the Armenian authorities to drop the case.

“It is not incitement to hatred or violence to raise human rights concerns about the treatment of minorities,” the experts said in August. “On the contrary, it is protected speech under the right to freedom of expression.

“Nor are minorities such as the Yezidis a threat to national security,” they added. “We call on Armenia to drop these criminal charges, which appear designed simply to intimidate Mr. Sultanyan and others who stand up for minority rights. They may also have a chilling effect on other human rights defenders, especially young people.” (source)

There are about 1.5 million Yazidis in the world, most of whom live in northern Iraq. There are smaller populations in Syria, Turkey and the European diaspora. There are about 40,000 Yazidis in Armenia, where they form the largest minority group. These Yazidis are constantly complaining about the violation of their fundamental rights and freedoms.