Armenian authorities failed to protect LGBT member says European Court of Human Rights

Armenian authorities failed to protect LGBT member says European Court of Human Rights
Photo by Ulla Smidt-Berner on Flickr

18-05-2022

Manon Picard

International Justice and Human Rights Researcher, 

Global Human Rights Defence.

On the 17th of May 2022, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered its judgement in the case of Oganezova v. Armenia. The case was filed by Armine Oganezova, an Armenian national, who was victim of an “aggressive homophobic campaign” due to the applicant being a well-known member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Armenia. The applicant was also a victim of an arson attack, was harassed and intimated, and received death threats. As a result of these events, Armine Oganezova has permanently left Armenia and has requested asylum in Sweden. Although the two perpetrators of the arson attack, members of a neo-Nazi group, were arrested and sentenced for their illegal actions they were subsequently granted amnesty. 

Armine Oganezova, claimed that her rights under Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment), Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life and home) and Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) had been violated. Specifically, Ms. Oganezova complained that: 

“the authorities failed to protect her from harassment, attacks and threats because of her sexual orientation and to effectively investigate her complaints. She also complains, under the same provisions, of the lack of an adequate legislative framework to combat hate crimes directed against the LGBT minority in Armenia”. 

The ECtHR found that the applicant’s rights under Article 3 taken in conjunction with Article 14 ECHR had been violated by the Armenian authorities. The Court stated that the arson attack, the “prevailing negative attitude towards the members of the LGBT community in general” and the hate speech Ms. Oganezova had been subjected to had put the applicant in such an “emotional distress” that it had reached a threshold of severity within the meaning of Article 3 taken in conjunction with Article 14 ECHR. In addition, the Court concluded that the Armenian authorities had failed to carry out an effective investigation into the arson attack. Although the investigation was carried out in a prompt and expeditiously reasonable manner, members of the general public were the ones who identified the perpetrators which allowed the authorities to resolve the case. Moreover, despite the strong indication that the crime of arson had been “motivated by the applicant’s sexual orientation and the bias towards the LGBT community in general”, the investigative authorities and domestic courts had “effectively ignor[ed] the hate-based nature of the offence” and treated the case as an ordinary crime of arson. Lastly, the applicant’s complaints in regard to the post-arson attack and the hate speech had not received any “meaningful follow-up” from the public authorities which had lifted protective measures only five days after finding that there existed a “real danger threatening the applicant’s life, health and property”. 

As a result, the Court found a violation of Article 3 taken in conjunction with Article 14 ECHR. The applicant, Armine Oganezova, was awarded 12,000 euros in non-pecuniary damages and 4,500 euros for the costs and expenses she incurred.

Sources and further reading:

European Court of Human Rights. (2022, May 17). CASE OF OGANEZOVA v. ARMENIA. https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-217250

European Court of Human Rights. (2022, May 17). Press Release – Judgments of 17 May 2022. Retrieved on May 18, 2022, from https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng-press?i=003-7337024-10015817

European Court of Human Rights. (2022, May 17). Legal Summary – Oganezova v. Armenia. Retrieved on May 18, 2022, from https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=002-13661