Police in Armenia detain pro-opposition journalist
New York, June 2, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is very concerned that Armenian authorities are detaining Ani Gevorgian, a journalist for the pro-opposition daily Haykakan Zhanamak, after she was arrested on assignment on Monday. Police in the capital, Yerevan, arrested Gevorgian, left, as she was covering a sit-in at Liberty Square being staged by…
CPJ welcomes Armenian vote to decriminalize defamation
We issued the following statement today after the National Assembly of Armenia approved on a second reading the decriminalization of defamation, including libel and insult. If signed into law, the amendments to Armenia’s penal and administrative code will remove imprisonment from the list of penalties for defamation; individuals found guilty of the offense would face…
Attacks on the Press 2009: Armenia
Top Developments• Broadcast media controlled by government or its allies.• Numerous assaults reported, but police do little. Key Statistic 12: Broadcast license applications filed by independent outlet A1+. None approved. The nation remained polarized by the fraud-marred 2008 presidential election won by Serzh Sargsyan, with large public protests and violent government reprisals continuing well into 2009. The…
Armenian online editor beaten, hospitalized
New York, April 30, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Armenian authorities to apprehend three assailants who attacked Argishti Kivirian, editor of the independent news Web site Armenia Today. The unidentified men beat Kivirian early this morning, leaving him hospitalized in serious condition, Zhanna Alexanian, president of the Yerevan-based organization Journalists for Human Rights,…
Attacks on the Press in 2008: 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…
Investigative journalist severely beaten
New York, November 19, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the brazen attack on Edik Baghdasarian, the editor of the Yerevan-based online newsmagazine Hetq. Three unidentified men ambushed Baghdasarian on Monday outside his office and badly beat him.
European Court rules in favor of embattled television station
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…
Restrictions imposed as president declares emergency
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…
Editor attacked, beaten
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.