ECHR orders Armenia to pay for crime committed during former government's reign

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has granted the case of the Director of the Yerevan DIY pub, which was set on fire 10 years ago and belonged to the artist Armine Oganezova (Tsomak).

Armenia was ordered to compensate for non-material damage (12,000 euros) and expenses for legal services (4,500 euros), Caliber.Az reports, citing the Armenian media.

On the night of May 8, 2012, the Dashnaks Arame and Ambik Khabazyan from Iran reportedly blew up and set the DIY pub on fire. The facility was subjected to several attacks by members of a nationalist group in the same year. For the first time, brothers from Iran blew up the club by breaking a window and throwing a bottle of petrol, after which they were arrested. The nationalists “marked” it even before the incident: the gay parade that took place in Turkiye became the central theme of the homophobic campaign. The Dashnak media actively highlighted the participation of Tsomak in “Pride” marching; the Yerkir Media TV channel devoted an entire interview to the topic, and distorted Oganezova’s statements, thereby worsening the already tense situation. The Armenian nationalists represented the pub as a gathering place for homosexuals.

The statements of the victims testifying to the explosion’s conduction by the fascist group "Black Crows", which consisted of about 30-40 young people, were then ignored.

After the incident, the Khabazyan brothers were detained. However, the detention did not last long, after some time one of the brothers was released on the travel ban, and the other - on bail for one million drams. This money was paid by Artsvik Minasyan and Hrayr Karapetyan, the then members of parliament from the Dashnaktsutyun party. The then authorities neither commented on what had happened nor justified the criminals.

Local courts considered the case as causing damages to someone else's property, neglecting the fact that the crime was committed based on homophobia and hatred on ethnic grounds. The brothers had spent no day in prison. After the arson, Tsomak continued to be persecuted, and she had to close the pub and leave the country.

Now the ECHR has ruled that Armenia failed to protect the claimant from homophobic attacks and hate speech. In addition, according to the ECHR, the hatred towards the applicant, the bad attitude, the burning of the pub, and the subsequent homophobic attacks were also not properly investigated.

The European Court found that Armenia had violated Articles 3 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights: “no one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” and “the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms outlined in the Convention shall be ensured without any discrimination.”

Oganezova reportedly claimed 20,000 euros in non-pecuniary damages and 10,725 pounds to cover legal costs.