Spotlight on Silence: Surveillance State: Armenia’s Biometric Crackdown | Ep 446, Jun 15, 2025

Episode Summary

In this episode of Groong: Spotlight on Silence, we speak with Rafael Ishkhanyan of the Armenian Center for Political Rights about Armenia’s sweeping new surveillance law. Passed quietly in March 2025, the law grants police 24/7 access to camera networks across public institutions and allows for real-time facial recognition, raising deep concerns about privacy, political targeting, and unchecked state power. We explore what the law says, what it leaves out, and why international silence—despite clear risks to civil liberties—has been so striking.

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Categories: Armenia, Privacy, Human Rights
Tags: Armenian News, Rafael Ishkhanyan, Armenia, Law on Police, Surveillance, Facial Recognition, Biometric Data, Privacy, Human Rights, Police State, Civil Liberties, AI Regulation, Public Safety, Political Targeting, Opposition Monitoring, Public Cameras, Protest Surveillance, Data Security, AWS, GDPR, Government Overreach, Western Silence, International Response, ACPR, Orwellian, 1984, Armenia Law, State Surveillance, Digital Rights, Free Expression, Civil Contract, Pashinyan, OSCE, Venice Commission, Data Sovereignty