YEREVAN PRESS CLUB WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
SEPTEMBER 11-17, 2009
HIGHLIGHTS:
RA COURT OF CASSATION REVOKED THE PARDON OF GAGIK SHAMSHIAN
DRAFT LAW ON CREATING A COMMISSION ON "A1+" TV COMPANY ISSUE NOT INCLUDED IN
THE AGENDA OF RA NA AUTUMN SESSION
"HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK" FOUNDER APPEALS THE DECISION ON SUIT OF LEVON KOCHARIAN
"JOURNALISM FACULTY" – BOOK BY ASHOT GAZAZIAN ISSUED
RA COURT OF CASSATION REVOKED THE PARDON OF GAGIK SHAMSHIAN
On September 16 RA Court of Cassation revoked the verdict of RA Criminal
Court of Appeal expanding an amnesty on free lance journalist Gagik
Shamshian. As it has been reported, the pardon to Gagik Shamshian, sentenced
to a fine on April 17, 2009 in the amount of 350,000 AMD (about $ 950) for
disrespect to court, was granted by the decision of Criminal Court of Appeal
on July 15, 2009. Gagik Shamshian considered that he had been pardoned
illegally and addressed to the RA Prosecutor’s Office and to the Court of
Cassation. The Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the journalist should not
have been pardoned on the abovementioned case, as an amnesty had already
been applied on him by another case (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, September
3-10, 2009). Now the same opinion was backed by the Court of Cassation.
DRAFT LAW ON CREATING A COMMISSION ON "A1+" TV COMPANY ISSUE NOT INCLUDED IN
THE AGENDA OF RA NA AUTUMN SESSION
On September 15 RA National Assembly resolved not to include in the agenda
of autumn session the legislative initiative of deputies from "Heritage"
faction Styopa Safarian and Anahit Bakhshian on establishing an interim
parliamentary commission. The commission would deal with the fulfillment of
requirements of the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe Resolutions
1374(2004), 1609(2008), 1620(2008), 1643(2009) and 1677(2009) on Armenia.
The draft law was declined by 53 votes "against" with 17 "for" and 18
abstainers.
As it has been reported, the legislative initiative was submitted to the
National Assembly on July 3, 2009. According to the proposal of deputies
from "Heritage" party, the interim commission was to carry out the following
three main tasks: the promotion of legislative initiative aiming to hold an
open, fair and transparent broadcast licensing competition, on the basis of
the report made by an independent CoE spectrum analyst; the examination and
the revision of legislative regulations preventing the implementation of the
judgment of the European Court of Human Rights on the case of "A1+"; the
preparation of a conclusion and its presentation to the RA National
Assembly, based on the acquisition and analysis of information on the
circumstances preventing the fulfillment of the PACE Resolutions
requirements on holding a competition and the execution of the European
Court judgment. According to the draft, the activities of the interim
commission were supposed to be terminated in the end of October 2009, in
order to ensure the fulfillment of the aforesaid demands of PACE Resolutions
before the PACE winter session and the forerunning session of Monitoring
Committee on the Honoring of Obligations and Commitments by Member-State of
Council of Europe (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, July 3-9, 2009).
"HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK" FOUNDER APPEALS THE DECISION ON SUIT OF LEVON KOCHARIAN
On September 11 in RA Civil Court of Appeal started the hearings on the
complaint of "Dareskizb" LLC, founder of "Haykakan Zhamanak" daily. The
complaint regards the decision of the court of primary jurisdiction on the
suit to protect the honor and the dignity of Levon Kocharian, younger son of
RA Second President Robert Kocharian. As it has been reported, the reason of
the lawsuit was the editorial "The Adventures of Robert’s Son in Dubai",
published in "Haykakan Zhamanak" on February 6, 2009. The piece informed
about Levon Kocharian’s detention by police of Dubai, UAE, in the end of
2008. On June 5, 2009 court of general jurisdiction of Kentron and
Nork-Marash communities of Yerevan partially secured the demands of the
suit, by obliging the newspaper to publish a refutation, to pay off the
plaintiff a sum of 3 million and 620 thousand AMD (about $ 9,600), and to
compensate the sue charges of 72 thousand AMD (see YPC Weekly Newsletter,
June 5-11, 2009).
The court hearings were interrupted because of the absence of the identity
of Levon Kocharian’s lawyer. At the following session of September 17 the
court informed that the decision on the appeal of "Haykakan Zhamanak"
founder would be read out on October 2, 2009.
"JOURNALISM FACULTY" – BOOK BY ASHOT GAZAZIAN ISSUED
On September 17 at the Journalists’ Union of Armenia was held the
presentation of a book by Ashot Gazazian, well-known journalist, the
correspondent of "Deutsche Welle" radio in Armenia and a member of Yerevan
Press Club Council, titled "JourFac" ("Journalism Faculty"). This is already
the second book in a genre, defined by its author himself as "Bioreport" and
represents memories, true stories, and reflections about the time, events,
profession, friends and colleagues. The first Bioreport of Ashot Gazazian,
"In the Shadow of the Sun", was issued in 2005 (see YPC Weekly Newsletter,
September 30 – October 6, 2005).
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Editor of YPC Newsletter – Elina POGHOSBEKIAN
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