Epress.am News from Armenia
On Mar. 25, the Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork Marash Administrative Districts will hear the case of Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) MP Tigran Arzakantsyan vs. local daily Yerkir (“Country”).
As previously reported, Arzakantsyan claims the newspaper has sullied his honor and dignity in an article as part of a series titled “131 faces and masks” in Yerkir’s Jan. 13 issue, and is demanding 3 million 568 thousand AMD (about $9,775 US) in compensation: 3 million AMD (about $8,219 US) for damages for insult and libel; 500,000 AMD (about $1,370 US) for lawyer fees incurred; and 68,000 AMD (about $186 US) for court expenses.
Speaking to Epress.am, Yerkir’s chief editor Bagrat Yesayan said the paper has fulfilled all its obligations, while owner of Great Valley AC Ltd. Arzakantsyan has not sent them an official retraction for publication.
“They sent us a letter where it says that Bagratyan did not call him a rascal,” he said, referring to the article in question where it notes that Armenia’s former prime minister Hrant Bagratyan had called Arzakantsyan a “rascal,” which Bagratyan refutes in the letter the MP sent to the paper.
Yesayan expressed hope that the court will be impartial in examining the case.”We hope that this time, the lawsuit instituted by another oligarch won’t be sustained.”