A bill authored by the Armenian Parliament Vice Speaker Alen Simonyan seeks to increase the amount of compensation for insult and slander to five and ten million drams.

Media outlets in Armenia have criticized the bill as excessive and detrimental to freedom of speech.

In an online discussion hosted by the Media Center, Ashot Melikyan, Chairman of the Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression, insisted that even the current 1.2 million mark of the current law is a rather high threshold for the media.

Melikyan argues that government officials often perceive objective criticism as insult or slander, taking the matter to the courts.  

"Who decided that five million or ten million drams is a reasonable threshold,” Melikyan asked in the debate, adding that the increased amounts will not ameliorate the problem.

 Melkyan believes that insult and slander primarily surface during domestic political campaigns and can be dealt with by other means.

Attorney Ara Ghazaryan, a specialist in international law, says the bill basically provides legal cover for the government to go after its opponents and should not be viewed as compensation for a violation of civil law.

He says the bill seeks to impose restrictive fines on the media.

Ghazaryan points out that the maximum fine in the Criminal Code is 800,000 drams, and this bill proposes five and ten-million-dram fines.

"There will be citizens who will say that it is better to spend a year or two in detention than to pay that amount. It is madness to set huge amounts for compensation," says Ghazaryan.

Ghazaryan says that political leaders in Armenia underestimate the value of freedom of speech and need to consult with sector experts before making changes that impact the media.  media, they must first talk to professional circles.  

The bill was adopted in the first reading and awaits a second reading.

Simonyan is a member of the Civil Contract party, a part of the ruling My Step (Im Kayl) parliamentary faction.