Guest:
Topics:
- Arrest of Imnemnimi Podcasters
- What are the Government’s Real Intentions?
- Silence of the West
- Call to All Media: Cover Aggressions Against Freedom of Expression in Armenia!
Episode 485 | Recorded: November 14, 2025
Show Notes
Summary
In this Conversations on Groong episode, Dr. Arthur Khachikyan discusses the rapid erosion of free expression in Armenia after the arrest of Imnemnimi podcasters Vazgen Saghatelyan and Narek Samsonyan. The conversation traces how a personal insult case against Speaker Alen Simonyan turned into an NSS raid on the AntiFake / Imnemnimi studio, pretrial detention for four staff, and the seizure of all production equipment. Khachikyan places this case in a wider pattern of pressure on journalists, lawyers, priests, and political scientists, and stresses how Western silence and double standards enable this crackdown. The episode ends with a call to Armenian and international audiences to use what remains of their freedom to expose this campaign and defend what is left of Armenia’s democracy.
Main Topics Addressed
- Arrest and pretrial detention of Imnemnimi hosts Vazgen Saghatelyan and Narek Samsonyan, and the NSS raid on their studio.
- Confiscation of all production equipment from AntiFake / Imnemnimi, including cameras, lights, microphones, and computers.
- Use of “hooliganism” charges as a new tool to punish political speech after earlier insult and hate speech bills met resistance.
- A wider system of intimidation against journalists, lawyers, priests, and political scientists who criticize the authorities.
- The collapse of political culture in Armenia, including public spitting incidents and coarse language at the highest levels of power.
- Western double standards on human rights, comparing reactions to Kosovo, Gaza, and Syria with silence on the ethnic cleansing of Armenians.
- The role of Western governments, embassies, and NGOs in enabling Armenia’s leadership through selective concern and inaction.
- A call for independent media, diaspora communities, and listeners to expose the Imnemnimi case and the broader campaign against free speech.
Key Questions Discussed
- How did a verbal clash with the Speaker of Parliament lead to a national security raid, mass equipment seizure, and pretrial detention for podcasters?
- What does the seizure of cameras, microphones, computers, and even tripods say about the state’s real goals toward independent media?
- In what ways has the “hooliganism” article become a replacement for insult and hate speech laws that failed to pass?
- How does the treatment of Imnemnimi fit into a wider pattern of arrests and pressure against lawyers, priests, and political opponents?
- Why are Western embassies and human rights organizations silent when Armenian authorities use methods that would not be accepted in their own countries?
- What do comparisons with Kosovo, Gaza, Syria, and the 2018 “Velvet Revolution” reveal about Western interests and double standards?
- What can independent journalists, diaspora Armenians, and ordinary listeners do to bring attention to this crackdown and defend what remains of Armenia’s democracy?
Referenced Articles & Sources
- Azatutyun report on the arrests of Imnemnimi / AntiFake podcasters and studio raid
- Imnemnimi / AntiFake episode with former president Serge Sargsyan (YouTube)
- AntiFake.am website
- AntiFake YouTube channel
- “Armenian opposition podcast hosts detained after criminal complaint by parliamentary speaker” – OC Media
- “Armenian expert condemns seizure of opposition media equipment” – Panorama.am
Wrap-up
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Guests
Arthur Khachikyan
Dr. Arthur Khachikyan, an International Relations expert from Stanford University, specializing in intervention.
Hosts
Hovik Manucharyan
Hovik Manucharyan is an information security engineer who moved from Seattle to Armenia in 2022. He co-founded the ANN/Groong podcast in 2020 and has been a contributor to Groong News since the late 1990s.
Disclaimer: The views expressed by Hovik Manucharyan on the ANN/Groong podcast are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of his employer or any other organization.
Asbed Bedrossian
Asbed Bedrossian is an IT professional, and for years oversaw the central IT enterprise infrastructure and services at USC. His decades of experience spanned across IT strategy, enterprise architecture, infrastructure, cybersecurity, enterprise applications, data center operations, high performance computing, ITSM, ITPM, and more.
Asbed founded the Armenian News Network Groong circa 1989/1990, and co-founded the ANN/Groong podcast in 2020.