Victory at the ECHR in the Cases of Ashghyan and Poghosyan v. Armenia

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), in its judgment of 11 June 2026, found a violation of Article 5 § 1 (right to liberty and security) of the European Convention on Human Rights in the cases of Ashghyan and Poghosyan v. Armenia (applications nos. 5293/16 and 5295/16), holding that the applicants’ deprivation of liberty was unlawful.

The case concerns two Armenian citizens, Abraham Ashghyan and Narine Poghosyan, who were detained by police on 23 June 2015 during the peaceful “Electric Yerevan” protests. The Court found that they were deprived of their liberty without a reasonable suspicion of having committed any criminal offence.

The Court reiterated that Article 5 of the Convention requires any deprivation of liberty to be lawful, non-arbitrary, and strictly compliant with Convention standards. It emphasised that the existence of “reasonable suspicion” is a fundamental safeguard against arbitrary arrest.

Relying on its established case-law, including Ishkhanyan v. Armenia, the Court concluded that the applicants’ arrests were not based on objective facts capable of giving rise to a reasonable suspicion. It therefore held that there had been a violation of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention.

As just satisfaction, the Court ordered the Republic of Armenia to pay each applicant EUR 2,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage and EUR 250 for costs and expenses.

Although the events took place nearly eleven years ago, the judgment carries significant legal importance. It reaffirms that deprivation of liberty cannot be imposed on participants in peaceful assemblies without sufficient factual basis and a demonstrable reasonable suspicion.