Epress.am News from Armenia
By ruling against local Armenian daily Haykakan Jamanak (“Armenian Times”), the court once again proved that courts in Armenia are simply a tool in the hands of the ruling authorities and the government attempts to silence free print media, as they have done with television stations for years, according to a statement issued by Center for Rights and Freedom President Vardan Harutyunyan
“The RA [Republic of Armenia] government, as per its nature, is unable to tolerate free speech and has done and will doing everything to oppress it,” reads the statement, in which the Center for Rights and Freedom, noting that the ruling against the daily is in fact a ruling against all free papers and news agencies in Armenia, calls on non-governmental organizations in Armenia, human rights defenders and Armenian citizens, irrespective of their political views and preferences, to raise their voices in favor of Haykakan Jamanak, and in so doing, protect the existence of right to free press and free speech in Armenia.