Tehmine Yenoqyan, journalist and President of “Green Armenia” NGO, has issued a statement regarding the rejection of the lawsuit filed against her by “Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine” CJSC (ZCMC), which sought a retraction and 6 million AMD in compensation.
The statement says: “On January 4, 2023, Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC) filed a civil lawsuit against me, Tehmine Yenoqyan, at Court of First Instance of Yerevan, demanding a retraction and compensation of 6 million AMD for alleged defamation. On February 23, 2026, the court fully rejected ZCMC’s claims for retraction and compensation.
Despite inconsistent formulations of the subject matter of the claim by ZCMC representative during the hearings, the court examined the disputed statement within the framework of protecting the rights to reputation and freedom of expression. The court recorded that liability for defamation, regardless of its nature and extent, constitutes an interference with a person’s freedom of expression. According to the court, liability for defamation must be proportionate to the harm caused to honor, and in a democratic society, the use of compensation for any other purpose would have an impermissibly restrictive effect on freedom of expression.
The court also addressed the issue of factual statements and value judgments and acknowledged that the disputed expression contains certain factual elements. However, by its nature, the statement could not be perceived by an objective observer as information aimed at damaging the claimant’s business reputation or discrediting it.
Ultimately, the court found that not all legal elements required to qualify the publication as defamation were present. In particular, there were no elements indicating that the information was false or specifically aimed at harming the claimant’s reputation. Therefore, the claims for a public retraction and compensation for defamation were unfounded and subject to dismissal. The court ordered ZCMC to reimburse a reasonable fee of AMD 100,000 for my legal representation.
The court judgment was not appealed and entered into force on March 23, 2026.
Tehmine Yenoqyan”
Attached: audio recordings of court hearings
March 25, 2026 at 15:54