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Opposition activist Narek Samsonyan, co-host of the Imnemnimi podcast, has reacted to the Freedom House report on internet freedom which covered his and his fellow activist Vazgen Saghatelyan’s detention for criticizing Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his government in an Imnemnimi episode.

“In March 2024, law enforcement officials detained Vazgen Saghatelyan and Narek Samsonyan, who criticized the government on their podcast, Imnemnimi. The hosts were then sentenced to two months in pretrial detention on charges of hooliganism. If found guilty, they could face up to five years in prison. Armenia’s Investigative Committee stated that Saghatelyan and Samsonyan committed hooliganism by “showing an openly contemptuous attitude towards moral norms” and swearing at Pashinyan and his cabinet in an episode covering a recent parliamentary session. AntiFake, the media outlet that releases Imnemnimi and has previously been accused by the Atlantic Council of spreading “biased narratives and inauthentic online,” published footage of Samsonyan’s brutal arrest,” reads the report Freedom on the Net 2024.

In a social media post on Thursday, Samsonyan highlighted that their unlawful detention was also outlined in the key developments of the report.

“The case fabricated by Pashinyan and his “brilliant” prosecutors and investigators is so absurd that even his backers cannot ignore it,” he wrote.