Religion – Weltanschauung – Recht [ RWR ]

The applicants are a religious organisation and its senior pastor and leader, Artur Simonyan. He is an Armenian national, who was born in 1966 and lives in Verin Ptghni (Armenia). The case concerns a weekly newspaper’s (Iravunk Hetaqnnutyun – “Law Investigation”) publication of articles referring to the applicant organisation as a “sect” and its followers “sectarians”.

The focus of the articles was a scandal about a famous actress, amid speculation that she was a follower of the applicants’ faith. The applicants’ claims against the newspaper for defamation and insult were ultimately unsuccessful.

Relying on Article 6 (right of access to court) of the European Convention on Human Rights, the applicants complain that the Court of Cassation refused to admit the applicants’ appeal on points of law in their case because of a purely technical error. They also rely on Article 9 (freedom of religion) to complain that certain findings by the Armenian courts breached the duty of neutrality and impartiality in religious matters, in particular their justifying the use of the words “sect” and “sectarian”, by the fact that the applicant organisation’s beliefs deviated from the dominant Armenian Apostolic Church.

• Violation of Article 6 § 1

Just satisfaction

• Non-pecuniary damage: € 3,600,–
• Costs and expenses: € 1,000,–

Press release ECHR 084 (2026) 02.04.2026