"We Will Slit Your Throat" Threat Dismissed by Authorities — Right Side NGO to Appeal the Investigative Committee’s Decision

On February 28, 2025, Lilit Martirosyan, President of Right Side Human Rights Defender NGO, submitted an official report to the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Armenia, requesting the initiation of criminal proceedings on the grounds of threats and incitement to hatred.

The report was submitted following an interview given by Lilit Martirosyan to Armenian media outlets, which gained wide circulation on social media.

Specifically, under a mamul.am publication, a user identifying as Saq Vardanyan posted the following comment:
"We will slit your throat," directly targeting Lilit Martirosyan.

This public threat clearly constituted incitement to violence and was directed not only at Lilit Martirosyan as an LGBTIQ activist, but also as a human rights defender—endangering her personal safety and dignity.

However, according to an official response received from the Investigative Department for Kentron and Norq-Marash administrative districts of the Yerevan City Division of the Investigative Committee of Armenia, the aforementioned comment was not recognized as a threat or a call to violence, and accordingly, no criminal case has been initiated.

Right Side NGO expresses deep concern regarding this decision. It establishes a dangerous precedent in which threats and incitement to violence against LGBTIQ individuals and human rights defenders are dismissed without proper legal evaluation. Such inaction gravely undermines public safety and encourages the normalization and reproduction of a climate of hate.

It is worth noting that the individual who made the threatening comment has been identified as an active Facebook user—yet even this fact was disregarded by the investigative authorities.

Right Side NGO will appeal the decision using all available legal avenues and calls on state institutions to guarantee the safety and legal protection of LGBTIQ people and human rights defenders in Armenia.ds,