2014 Annual Report: 65 Incidents of Journalists’ Rights Violations

01.30.2015 18:17 epress.am

The number of violations of journalists and media outlet rights in
2014 has decreased from 77 to 65 compared to 2013, states the Defense
of Freedom of Expression Committee’s annual report. Regardless of the
fact, the report’s authors consider the change to be discouraging
because 2014, compared to 2013, had no national elections, which
usually have violations of journalists’ rights.

The Freedom of Expression Committee considers the number of rights
violated alarming and disturbing.

According to the report, in 2014 incidents of physical violence
against journalists were registered at 9 (previous year, 10), pressure
against journalists were registered at 43 (previous year, 57),
violation of receiving and dispersing information registered at 13
(previous year, 10).

While presenting the report, the Committee chairman Ashot Melikyan
stated that the presented numbers do not claim to be absolute truths,
because many incidents are not raised by journalists whose rights are
violated.

During 2014, 22 new cases related to mass media outlets’ rights were
initiated by courts. The Freedom of Expression Committee expert Vasak
Darbinyan noted that in cases of physical violence against
journalists, the large portion of violence is implemented by police
officers. Darbinyan recalled an incident of violence by police on
Chorord Inknishkhanutyun daily’s journalist Ani Gevorgyan and am
ilur.am site cameraman Sargis Gevorgyan. He stressed that no
journalist has been successful in restoring their rights through a
judicial process. There have been cases which have not even reached
the courts.

“The Armenian courts have assigned the Special Investigation Service
to deal with the incident, while the latter covers up the cases, with
the standard “lack of criminal intent” basis. And those occur in the
situation where the act of violence is caught on film and posted on
the internet,” note the report’s authors.

A similar incident occurred when an a1plus.am site journalist Marine
Khachatryan was attacked in front of the National Assembly by the NA
security head Karen Hayrapetyan.