SAR’s Academic Freedom Monitoring Project investigates and reports attacks on higher education with the aim of raising awareness, generating advocacy, and increasing protection for scholars, students, and academic communities. Starting July 1, 2026, SAR no longer publishes reports for the incidents that it records. SAR continues to monitor and record incidents that will be used in the annual Free to Think report. This page provides a record of incidents reported up to that date. Learn more about the Academic Freedom Monitoring Project.

Date of Incident: March 11, 2026

Attack Types: Loss of Position | Other

Institution(s):American University of Armenia

Region & Country:Western Asia | Armenia

New or Ongoing:New Incident

On March 11, 2026, it was reported that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had demanded the resignation of Dr. Edita Gzoyan, a prominent genocide scholar, from her position as director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute (AGMI). The demand came in apparent retaliation for materials that Gzoyan shared in February 2026 when US Vice President JD Vance paid an official visit to the Institute.

Dr. Gzoyan, who was elected AGMI Director in 2024, is a scholar of genocide studies specializing in the legal and historical dimensions of the Armenian Genocide. She serves as Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Armenian Genocide Studies and teaches at the American University of Armenia.

During the February visit, Dr. Gzoyan guided the Vice President and his wife on a tour of the memorial complex. She shared with them several Institute publications, including one that referenced the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Dr. Gzoyan resigned shortly after the visit. At a press conference on March 12, 2026, Prime Minister Pashinyan publicly confirmed that he had demanded her resignation, describing the books about Nagorno-Karabakh as “provocative” and contrary to Armenia’s current foreign policy. The incident prompted several independent scholars on the AGMI Board of Trustees to resign in protest of political interference. Pashinyan subsequently bypassed established governance procedures and appointed a member of his own staff as acting director.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the forced resignation of a scholar as a result of government interference and in apparent retaliation for exercising their academic expertise. Higher education and government officials should respect scholars’ exercise of such rights and refrain from disciplinary actions that punish or deter academic activity. In addition to the harm to the immediate victim, such actions undermine academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and democratic society generally.

Sources:
https://azat.tv/en/edith-gzoyan-resignation-concerns/
https://mesana.org/advocacy/committee-on-academic-freedom/2026/04/09/letter-regarding-the-forced-resignation-of-agmi-director-gzoyan
https://armenianweekly.com/2026/03/13/genocide-scholars-condemn-removal-of-agmi-director-edita-gzoyan/
https://people.aua.am/team_member/edita-gzoyan/
https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/author/edita-gzoyan/