The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled in favour of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who was imprisoned for a decade before rising to office.

In 2010, Pashinyan filed a lawsuit against Armenia for his detention and conviction in the wake of the fatal 2008 crackdown on anti-government protestors.

As the respondent in the lawsuit, Pashinyan's administration made no comments in court about the claims levelled against it by the PM.

The European Court of Human Rights stated on January 18 that the Armenian government had breached Pashinyan's rights to freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, liberty, and security.

In his application, Pashinyan did not request any monetary compensation.

In July 2009, Pashinyan was detained on allegations of attempting to overthrow constitutional order. He was condemned to seven years in jail, but on the 20th anniversary of Armenia's independence, he was pardoned and freed in 2011.

He was found guilty for his participation in organising protests against the results of the 2008 presidential election, in which Serzh Sargsyan was elected president.

Pashinyan was an opposition activist and editor-in-chief of Haykakan Zhamanak (Armenian Times) at the time.

The rallies were planned by Armenia's first president, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who lost to Sargsyan in fraudulent elections, according to the opposition. When the government crushed the protesters on March 1, 2008, at least 10 people died, including two police officers.