Rights defenders criticize Pashinyan for posting personal data of quarantine violators

The photo and video evidence of quarantine violations posted by the Prime Minister of Armenia on the Facebook should not allow identifying depicted people, human rights defenders have stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Armenian Premier, Nikol Pashinyan, announced the second coronavirus wave in the country. Since June 4, residents of the country are forbidden to leave home without masks.

On June 2, Mr Pashinyan called on Facebook users to send evidence of quarantine violations to his page in this social network. In response, hundreds of photos and videos of people without masks, including schoolchildren, were posted in his page.

Pashinyan also posted a photo of a girl without a mask in the subway with the words "Undisguised Beauty". Her face was not retouched. The post caused outraged users' comments criticizing the girl.

Zara Ovannisyan, the coordinator of the Coalition "Against Violence over Women", has condemned the publication of the photo. She treats it as an invasion into one's privacy.

Nina Karapetyants, the head of the Helsinki Association of Armenia, believes that by such posts, the Prime Minister promotes hate speech.

The rhetoric of hatred in Armenia threatens democracy, journalists and NGOs have stated.

Posting such photos by the Premier violates the law on the protection of personal data, since the person who is being photographed should be informed about it, said Shushan Doidoyan, the director of the Freedom of Information Centre.