MoESCS-Hayk Demoyan Dispute Moves to the Legal Field
The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports (MoESCS) and Minister Zhanna Andreasyan are demanding, through legal proceedings, the retraction of posts published in September 2025 by Hayk Demoyan, former Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, which they deem to be insulting and defamatory. The lawsuit was filed with the Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan on November 21.
The Ministry demands not only public retractions but also compensation totaling 9 million drams. Specifically, 3 million drams for insulting expressions and 6 million drams as compensation for defamation, both in favor of Zhanna Andreasyan and the Ministry.
In September, Hayk Demoyan made several posts in which he criticized the Ministry’s activities, speaking of “criminal negligence,” decisions “containing corruption risks,” and “squandering of the state budget.” Demoyan also accused the Ministry of publishing low-quality textbooks and carrying out processes with “corrupt details” in the cost estimates of the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex. According to Demoyan, the building of the Hovhannes Tumanyan Museum remained semi-ruined for months, while the Ministry focused on “senseless and corruption-risky” projects.
The MoESCS maintains that Demoyan’s publications factually damaged the reputation of the Minister and the institution. They demand a public retraction on the same platform where the posts were disseminated: “Facebook.”