Local Daily Claims Lawsuits Against Newspapers are Presidential Orders

Three lawsuits have been launched against local daily Jamanak (“Times”), as a result of which 11.5 million drams (about $31,507 US) overall is being demanded from the paper, said the paper’s chief editor Arman Babajanyan, speaking to journalists in Yerevan today.

“The first case is the lawsuit initiated by second president of the Republic of Armenia Robert Kocharian’s wife Bella Kocharian and son Sedrak Kocharian with a demand of 6 million drams; the second case, the Glendale Hills lawsuit, with a preliminary [request] of 3 million [drams]; and the third case is Tatul Manaseryan’s suit for compensation of 2.5 million [drams],” Babajanyan and attorney Nikol Baghdasaryan described the lawsuits in detail.

According to Babajanyan, all this aims to cause the newspaper financial damage.

“Robert Kocharian, during his term, personally prosecuted me; I was released. It doesn’t let him rest that today I’m the editor of a newspaper, and he’s also one of my targets. I’m neither going to retreat from nor be afraid of this work style of Robert Kocharian’s. I see elements of political vendetta here,” he said.

Babajanyan described how during his time in prison, Kocharian’s security guards visited him and proposed he shut down the paper and leave the country.

“In truth, I think that during this heated electoral haven, the trials won’t reduce; they’ll become more heated and will increase and the real aim is to shut down the paper. I have specific information that this is an order from the presidential [level]; here the ruling authorities have begun a planned fight against free press,” he said.

Hayeli (“Mirror”) Press Club President Angela Tovmasyan asked why all this is being done at the hand of Robert Kocharian.

“Why not also by the hand of Robert Kocharian?” Jamanak’s chief editor responded.

Asked by Epress.am whether in his opinion, the current and second presidents of Armenia are together trying to shut down newspapers, the latter, contradicting himself said:

“I don’t think such a thing; I’m saying that papers, which more or less have independence, are prosecuted through an order brought down from the presidential [level].”

Babajanyan further noted that the amount the Kocharians are requesting is due to the fact that they consider this to be a model for doing business.

“I ask how do they explain the 3 million requested for court expenses; they tell me it’s a business model. That is, they view the court as a place of business where they make money,” explained attorney Nikolai Baghdasaryan.

In Babajanyan words, they, exhausting all possible options in Armenia’s courts, will be appealing to the European Court of Human Rights.