HUMAN RIGHTS OMBUDSMAN BELIEVES BABAJANIAN’S RULING TOO TOUGH

Panorama.am
13:10 14/09/06

Human Rights Ombudsman Armen Harutunyan is concerned with the recent
violations against reporters which he considers serious threat against
freedom of speech.

"Freedom of speech is one of the layers of democracy," he told a
press conference today. Harutunyan issued a statement recently asking,
"not to ignore the incidents and discover the perpetrators."

Asked by a reporter if he believes that the court ruling on Arman
Babajanyan’s was too tough, he ombudsman said, "I do not think his
act deserved four years of imprisonment."

However, the ombudsman admits he cannot take any other measures
than to include the information in annual reports or other reports
addressed to international organizations. "It is dictated by law on
human rights ombudsman," he said.