The European Court has found a violation of the right to liberty in the case of Selimyan and Others v. Armenia

In its judgment of 16 April 2026, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found a violation of Article 5 §1 of the European Convention on Human Rights (right to liberty and security) in Selimyan and Others v. Armenia (applications nos. 2991/16 and others), concluding that the applicants’ deprivation of liberty was unlawful.

The case concerns participants of the 2015 Electric Yerevan protests who were apprehended and unlawfully deprived of their liberty by the police. The applicants argued that they had been detained without a reasonable suspicion of having committed a criminal offence.

The Court reiterated that under Article 5, any deprivation of liberty must not only comply with domestic law but also be free from arbitrariness.

Referring to its established case-law (in particular, Ishkhanyan v. Armenia), the Court found that the applicants’ arrests were not based on a “reasonable suspicion,” a fundamental requirement under the Convention. It therefore found a violation of Article 5 §1.

The Court ordered the Republic of Armenia to pay compensation to the applicants, as specified in the appendix to the judgment.

Although the events in question took place nearly a decade ago, the judgment constitutes an important legal acknowledgment and may serve a preventive function, particularly given that similar policing practices appear to persist.

It should also be noted that domestic proceedings in these cases are still ongoing, and to date, violations in the context of assemblies have not received adequate legal assessment.