US embassy cable - 05YEREVAN506

UNCLAS YEREVAN 000506 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT. FOR EUR/CACEN, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, AM 
SUBJECT: ARMENIA PROSECUTES A CASE OF HATE SPEECH 
 
REF:  "Report on Global Anti-Semitism," January 5 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly. 
 
1. (SBU) On January 24 authorities arrested the leader 
of the Armenian Aryan Union, Armen Avetisian, for 
"inciting national hatred," and after a two-day trial 
he received a suspended sentence on March 18. 
Avetisian told a newspaper in January that "the future 
of any nation that has a Jewish community is in danger, 
and those (the Jews) who endanger the Armenian state 
should be driven out."  Avetisian made previous public 
statements that Armenia should be "purged" of Jews and 
Yezdis (ref).  Avetisian had served a total of 35 days 
in pre-trial detention as the judge in his case 
considered his statements so actionable as to preclude 
his release. 
 
2. (SBU) The Armenian Aryan Union has approximately 50 
members, and it made headlines several times in the 
last six months with statements against Jews and 
homosexuals.  In previous discussions, neither the 
Chief Rabbi of Armenia nor a prominent secular Jewish 
leader knew of any incidents of violence or vandalism 
committed by the group, although they both complained 
to us that the group distributes hate literature. 
 
3. (SBU) Armenia's Human Rights Ombudsman, Larissa 
Alaverdian told us that she thought the trial was 
unfortunate.  She also elaborated on her belief that 
Armenia should move away from the Soviet practice of 
proscribing certain types of speech, and that without 
an act of intolerance, the case should not have gone to 
trial. 
EVANS