Committee to Protect Journalists
Armenia
Harassment of journalists and self-censorship among the news media intensified before and after a flawed February 2008 presidential election. The countryís authoritarian president, Robert Kocharian, imposed a state of emergency after the balloting to suppress demonstrations and block independent news reporting, a move that allowed him to deliver the presidency to a hand-picked successor, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan.
New York, June 19, 2008—The European Court of Human Rights ruled Tuesday that Armenia’s repeated denials of a broadcasting license to the independent A1+ television station violated Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. According to the verdict, the Armenian government must pay the station 20,000 euros (US$31,000) in damages.
Famous for its criticism of Armenian authorities, A1+ was forced off the air in 2002 when the National Committee on Television and Radio—a regulatory body whose members are directly appointed by the president—awarded the station’s frequency to another company. Since then, the agency has repeatedly rejected A1+ applications for a broadcasting license—moves widely viewed as retaliation for the station’s journalism. When local courts dismissed A1+ appeals as unfounded, station owner Mesrop Movsesyan filed an appeal with the Strasbourg-based court in 2004.
Restrictions imposed as president declares emergency
New York, March 3, 2008—Armenian authorities should immediately lift restrictions on independent news reporting and the censorship of independent news Web sites, steps imposed when President Robert Kocharian declared a state of emergency on Saturday, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Kocharian declared a 20-day state of emergency after clashes between government troops and opposition supporters in the capital, Yereven, resulted in eight deaths and more than 100 injuries, according to international press reports. Protesters claimed that vote-rigging marred the February 19 presidential election that ended in victory for Kocharian’s hand-picked successor, Serzh Sarkisian. Hundreds of troops were deployed in Yerevan to clamp down on the demonstrations. The state of emergency also banned public gatherings, set travel restrictions, and gave police expanded search powers, according to international news accounts.
SEPTEMBER 15, 2007Posted October 3, 2007
Ovannes Galagzhian, Iskakan IravunkATTACKED
Two unidentified assailants attacked and severely beat Ovannes Galadzhian, editor of the Yerevan-based newspaper Iskakan Iravunk on September 15 as he was leaving his newsroom at around 7 p.m. The two used metal rods to hit Galadzhian mainly on the head; he was hospitalized.
Attacks on the Press
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Attacks & Developments Throughout the Region
New York, September 11, 2006—A district court judge in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, sentenced Arman Babadzhanian, editor of the opposition newspaper Zhamanak Yerevan, to four years in prison on Friday for dodging military service in 2002 by presenting false documents to avoid the obligatory two-year draft, according to local press reports.
September 6, 2006
Posted: October 13, 2006
Ovannes Galagzhyan, Iravunk
ATTACKED
Two unidentified men attacked Galagzhyan, editor-in-chief of Armenia’s top-selling opposition weekly Iravunk, in the courtyard of his apartment building on Komitas Street in the capital city of Yerevan. The two men, both with shaved heads, strong builds, and about 40 years of age, threw the editor to the ground as the journalist was leaving and began kicking him, aiming for his head, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
Posted: October 13, 2006
Ovannes Galagzhyan, Iravunk
ATTACKED
Two unidentified men attacked Galagzhyan, editor-in-chief of Armenia’s top-selling opposition weekly Iravunk, in the courtyard of his apartment building on Komitas Street in the capital city of Yerevan. The two men, both with shaved heads, strong builds, and about 40 years of age, threw the editor to the ground as the journalist was leaving and began kicking him, aiming for his head, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
July 13, 2006
Posted: August 16, 2006
GAGIK SHAMSHIAN, freelance
ATTACKED, HARASSED
Gagik Shamshian, a freelancer writing for the opposition weekly Chorrord Ishkhanutyun and the independent daily Aravot, was assaulted in the southern Yerevan suburb of Nubarashen by relatives and friends of the district’s mayor, Mher Hovannisian, local press reported. The assailants threatened Shamshian, repeatedly hit him, and stole his mobile phone, tape recorder, and wallet, the reports said.
Posted: August 16, 2006
GAGIK SHAMSHIAN, freelance
ATTACKED, HARASSED
Gagik Shamshian, a freelancer writing for the opposition weekly Chorrord Ishkhanutyun and the independent daily Aravot, was assaulted in the southern Yerevan suburb of Nubarashen by relatives and friends of the district’s mayor, Mher Hovannisian, local press reported. The assailants threatened Shamshian, repeatedly hit him, and stole his mobile phone, tape recorder, and wallet, the reports said.
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