11 November 2026
The Global Forest Coalition (GFC) strongly condemns the ongoing judicial harassment of Nazeli Vardanyan, a member of the GFC Board and a long-standing environmental human rights defender in Armenia, in connection with her work to defend forests, biodiversity, human rights and affected communities.
The case against Nazeli is particularly alarming in the context of the recently concluded UN Biodiversity Conference, CBD COP17, which was hosted in Yerevan. As governments gathered in Armenia to discuss progress on global biodiversity commitments, environmental defenders raising concerns about the impacts of extractive industries were facing renewed legal pressure.
On 29 October 2026, the Civil Court of General Jurisdiction of First Instance in Yerevan continued proceedings brought against Nazeli by mining company Lydian Armenia. The case concerns an interview published in January 2026 in which Nazeli raised concerns about the environmental impacts of the Amulsar gold and silver mine. Lydian Armenia is seeking a public retraction and AMD 6 million (approximately EUR 15,000) in damages. The next hearing is scheduled for 3 December 2026.
Nazeli is an Armenian human rights lawyer and the head of Armenian Forests NGO, a GFC member, through which she has worked for many years to protect Armenia’s forests and to raise concerns about the environmental, social and human rights impacts of the Amulsar project.
These proceedings must not be allowed to silence environmental defenders or suppress legitimate public debate about projects with profound implications for biodiversity, water, communities and human rights.
Front Line Defenders has characterised the ongoing proceedings as judicial harassment and expressed concern about the use of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) against human rights defenders and journalists in Armenia. Other international human rights organisations, including FIDH and OMCT together with the Civil Society Institute, have similarly warned that the proceedings against Nazeli and fellow environmental defender Tehmine Yenoqyan bear characteristics of SLAPPs and could have a chilling effect on environmental advocacy and public participation.
This case also comes against a broader history of litigation against environmental defenders challenging the Amulsar project. Front Line Defenders notes that Lydian Armenia has previously brought legal action against Nazeli, while the European Court of Human Rights has communicated her earlier case against Armenia concerning freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The timing could hardly be more significant. Amulsar officially began operations on 10 October, shortly before Armenia hosted COP17. Armenian civil society organisations have continued to raise concerns about the mine’s potential impacts on water and biodiversity and have called for further environmental assessment and review.
Environmental defenders are not obstacles to biodiversity protection. They are essential to it. People who scrutinise major projects, raise concerns about environmental impacts and defend the rights of affected communities must be able to do so without intimidation, retaliation or the threat of costly legal proceedings.
GFC therefore stands firmly with Nazeli Vardanyan and calls on:
- Lydian Armenia to immediately withdraw the proceedings against Nazeli Vardanyan and refrain from using litigation to silence legitimate environmental and human rights advocacy;
- The Armenian authorities to ensure that the proceedings against Nazeli do not result in judicial harassment or restrictions on her legitimate human rights work, and to protect environmental human rights defenders from reprisals;
- The Armenian authorities to introduce and enforce effective safeguards against SLAPPs and other forms of judicial harassment, ensuring that courts and legal procedures cannot be used to intimidate or silence people speaking on matters of public interest;
- The Armenian authorities to guarantee that environmental human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers, communities and civil society organisations can participate freely in public debate and environmental decision-making, without fear of retaliation;
- International human rights and environmental mechanisms to closely monitor the proceedings against Nazeli and other environmental defenders in Armenia, including the implementation of Armenia’s obligations to protect environmental participation and human rights defenders.
The credibility of Armenia’s biodiversity commitments cannot be separated from the treatment of the people defending biodiversity on the ground. As GFC stated during COP17, governments must put power and resources in the hands of those who are already protecting territories and biodiversity, rather than allowing those same people to be threatened or silenced.
GFC stands with our Board member Nazeli Vardanyan and with all environmental defenders in Armenia who continue to defend people, forests, water and biodiversity.
