THOMAS HAMMARBERG PERMITTED TO VISIT PEOPLE IMPRISONED ON CASE OF MASS DISORDERS

Noyan Tapan
March 13, 2008

YEREVAN, MARCH 13, NOYAN TAPAN. The issue of limitations on mass media
became a subject of discussion at the March 12 meeting of RA Minister
of Justice Gevorg Danielian and Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of
Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. Noyan Tapan was informed about
it by Lana Mshetsian, the Spokesperson of the RA Justice Minister.

According to the official report, T. Hammarberg said that various
ungrounded rumors not corresponding to reality, which are unduly
widely spread at present, can be prevented through mitigating the
limitations currently existing in that sphere: mass media working in
legal ways will keep away from spreading false information as far as
possible. "In this connection the phenomenon of periodically spreading
provoking information through some media, its grave consequences,
and other additional bases that forced the authorities to temporarily
use that limitation were presented to the Commissioner," the report
read. At the same time, it was clarified that the limitation in
fact embraces narrow circles, while some media try not to make any
publications at all for the purpose of unduly aggravating that issue
and presenting the ranges as wider.

The Commissioner asked to express an opinion about the process of
examination in connection with the facts, which have become bases for
announcing a state of emergency, in response to which it was mentioned
that the issue regards the Prosecutor General of the Republic of
Armenia, and the process of examination is obviously transparent
and the most important is that all versions have become a subject of
discussion. Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe Commissioner for
Human Rights, expressed willingeness to meet with people imprisoned
within the framework of the above mentioned examination, which was
approved.

The Commissioner admitting that announcing state of emergency
is envisaged by the international law respective documents, in
particular, European Convention on Human Rights and Basic Freedoms,
asked to present him with the legal bases of announcing state of
emergency concretely in the city of Yerevan. Mr Hammarberg expressed
satisfaction with the comments and explanations presented to him and
noted that mitigation of some provisions of the legal regime of state
of emergency by the President was grounded by the law.