Word of Life Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith in Armenia and Simonyan v Armenia [2026] ECHR 57 was primarily about the role of domestic courts in upholding the State’s duty of neutrality and impartiality in religious matters.

Background

In 2011, the authorities investigated a man, K.A, for allegedly distributing pornographic material and violating privacy after he published intimate photos involving a well-known actress, A.S – an incident that sparked widespread public debate about the balance between protecting private life and regulating pornographic content [5]. There was intense media coverage, including unconfirmed speculation that A.S. belonged to Armenia’s biggest “sect”: Word of Life [6]. The newspaper Iravunk Hetaqnnutyun then published an article linking the scandal to Word of Life, claiming that A.S. was a member and accusing her of serious misconduct and alleging “that she had engaged in lewd acts with her own child” [6]. It also stated that Word of Life was a “sectarian union”, and that it exerted influence in certain circles involving television companies and public officials [6]. Continue reading →