Ongoing judicial harassment against Nazeli Vardanyan

On 29 October 2026, the Civil Court of General Jurisdiction of First Instance in Yerevan, Armenia, continued with the trial against woman environmental human rights defender Nazeli Vardanyan. These proceedings were brought by mining company, Lydian Armenia in February 2026, claiming defamation. Specifically, the lawsuit pertains to an interview the woman environmental human rights defender gave to an online media outlet, in which she expressed concerns about the environmental impact of the reopening and operation of the Amulsar gold and silver mine. The next hearing is scheduled for 3 December 2026.

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Nazeli Vardanyan is an Armenian human rights lawyer and long-standing woman environmental human rights defender. She is the head of Armenian Forests NGO, an organisation that works to protect Armenia’s forests through the promotion of reforestation, advocacy, education and community engagement. She has been actively engaged for many years in legal and public advocacy concerning the Amulsar gold mine and its environmental, social and human rights implications.

The hearing which took place on 29 October 2026 is a continued act of judicial harassment against the woman environmental human rights defender, pursued by Lydian Armenia. On 26 February 2026, legal proceedings against Nazeli Vardanyan were announced by the company as a direct result of her interview to the media outlet Panorama.am, published on 20 January 2026. In this interview, she raised concerns about the long-term environmental impact of the Amulsar mining project. In its statement, Lydian Armenia claimed that the comments made by the human rights lawyer “appear to be deliberately aimed at damaging Lydian Armenia’s business reputation and discrediting the Amulsar Project.” In the lawsuit, it was requested that Nazeli Vardanyan retract her statement and pay AMD 6,000,000 (approximately EUR 13,000) in damages to the mining company.

Many Armenian human rights defenders have raised concerns about the environmental implications of the Amulsar gold mine, including potential risks to water resources and biodiversity. The mine began official operations on 10 October 2026. On 12 October 2026, Armenian civil society organisations issued a public statement challenging the reopening. They called for a further environmental assessment and review of the decision that authorised the mining operations.

Grave concerns have been voiced by human rights defenders in relation to the “gifting” of 12.5% of the company shares of Lydian Armenia to the Armenian Government. This could be interpreted as the legitimisation of the company’s activities by the state. Lydian Armenia’s statement about their pursuit of legal action against Nazeli Vardanyan echoed a similar sentiment, suggesting that the woman environmental human rights defender’s comments were damaging not only to the company, but also to the “the legitimate interests of the citizens of Armenia,” as the mining project is held to be of “significant economic importance for the Republic of Armenia.”

This is not the first time Lydian Armenia has targeted environmental rights defenders. Environmental rights organisation, Green Armenia, documented that the company filed at least 19 Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation between 2018 and 2020. The company’s own statement noted that Nazeli Vardanyan was presented with a SLAPP suit by the company in 2020 where she was unsuccessful. This case was referred to the European Court of Human Rights which, in a recent communicationtion stated that there had been a violation of her right to freedom of expression, contrary to article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights. Since December 2025, Lydian Armenia has been targeting another woman human rights defender, Tehmine Yenoqyan, for her social media post which documented damage the Amulsar mine construction has inflicted on water supply pipes. Similar to the lawsuit against Nazeli Vardanyan, the company is requesting damages and a statement of retraction.

Front Line Defenders is gravely concerned about the ongoing judicial harassment of woman environmental human rights defender Nazeli Vardanyan. The organisation believes that the defender is being targeted in connection with her legitimate and peaceful human rights work, including her efforts to raise legitimate concerns about the environmental and human rights implications of mining activities. Front Line Defenders remains concerned about the use of SLAPP lawsuits which are used against human rights defenders and journalists in Armenia. Such lawsuits have a chilling effect on the activities of human rights defenders, particularly in relation to matters of public interest.

Front Line Defenders call on the authorities in Armenia to:

1. Immediately drop the unfounded charges against Nazeli Vardanyan;
2. Restrict the use of lawsuits, similar to that of Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation which prevent human rights defenders from carrying out their work;
3. Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in Armenia, including environmental rights defenders, are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free from all restrictions, including judicial harassment.