OSCE OFFICE IN YEREVAN CONDEMNS CASES OF VIOLENT ATTACKS AGAINST MEDIA WORKERS AND THUS AGAINST FREE SPEECH IN ARMENIA

ArmInfo
2009-05-13 18:40:00

ArmInfo. The OSCE Office in Yerevan condemns the cases of violent
attacks against media workers and thus against free speech and expects
that the law enforcement bodies will investigate the cases with new
dynamism to find and punish perpetrators with speed and thoroughness
that the cases deserve",- Ambassador Sergey Kapinos, Head of the OSCE
Office in Yerevan said when replying to ArmInfo’s question.

"Prompt disclosure of those standing behind the cases and bringing
them to justice will prevent other such cases in future, create a safe
working environment for journalists and help public fully and freely
exercise their right to receive pluralistic information",- he added.

He said that the OSCE Office in Yerevan, in accordance with
its mandate, closely follows the state of media freedom in the
country. "The recent repeated cases of violent assaults against media
professionals have marred the current media freedom situation in
Armenia. The last two weeks saw two attacks on journalists, including
the severe beating of Argishti Kiviryan, Coordinator of Armenia Today
Information Agency, and the beating of Nver Mnatsakanyan, a well known
commentator of Shant TV. The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the
Media, Miklos Haraszti, has asked the Armenian authorities to swiftly
investigate the acts of violence committed against media professionals,
stressing that "The lack of results into cases of violence against
journalists creates an atmosphere of impunity for the perpetrators
and can provoke other cases of violence against media workers". The
Representative also expressed concern over previous violence against
journalists in Armenia referring to the undisclosed cases of violence
against Lusine Barseghyan from the opposition newspaper Haykakan
Zhamanak; Hrach Melkumyan, the acting Chief of Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty’s Yerevan bureau; and Edik Baghdasaryan, the Chairman of the
Investigative Journalists’ Association.

The Ambassador added that the OSCE Office in Yerevan sent letters
to the law enforcement agencies of Armenia with enquiries concerning
the results of investigation of the above and other cases of assaults
against independent reporters.