Epress.am News from Armenia
Nine online media sites mentioned Armenian police the most as the offending party ih human rights related articles published between May 1 and July 25, according to findings of a study conducted by Socioscope NGO for eTV, a joint project of Epress.am and the Helsinki Association for Human Rights.The study was conducted among existing publications from nine Armenian websites (Epress.am, Tert.am, Lragir.am, News.am, Azatutyun.am, Hetq.am, Galatv.am, Aravot.am, iLur.am). Overall, 1,395 articles were published related to the human rights sector during the mentioned timeframe. The number of articles in the previous quarter [AM] was 1,524.
Of published articles, 23.4% mentioned the offending party as the police. Other offenders were Armenian courts and judges (14.9%), other Armenian government institutions (8.7%), and representatives of the Armenian business industry (7.6%).
According to the research, those who were affected most by human rights offenses were socially vulnerable groups: the elderly, women, poor people, unemployed, veterans, and people with disabilities. Articles related to these groups numbered at 331.
Many articles regarding violations of activists’ rights was also mentioned frequently, numbered at 185.
TABLE 1
| Offender(s) identified in the article | N | % |
| Armenian ruling authorities or official Yerevan | 98 | 7.0 |
| Prime Minister, government, ministers with the exception of defense and interior | 122 | 8.7 |
| Police (investigators, SIS, NSS) | 327 | 23.4 |
| Justice Ministry, prison administration (penal institutions) | 59 | 4.2 |
| Prosecutor General | 40 | 2.9 |
| Armenian Defense Ministry, army officer personnel, military prosecutor | 15 | 1.1 |
| Representatives of the Armenian business industry | 106 | 7.6 |
| Representatives of education and science educational institutions | 43 | 3.1 |
| Ordinary Armenian citizens | 27 | 1.9 |
| Unknown groups (hooligans, etc.) | 3 | 0.2 |
| No offending party | 263 | 18.9 |
| Judges, the courts | 208 | 14.9 |
| Employers | 32 | 2.3 |
| Other | 52 | 3.8 |
| Overall | 1,395 | 100 |
As in previous months, this time too the media wrote most about human rights violations in Yerevan. There were 894 articles on human rights violations in the capital, comprising 64.1% of the study. 17.7% of the articles related to the entire territory of Armenia. The media referred to human rights violations in the province of Lori and Armavir the least, comprising only 7 articles or 0.5 % each.
TABLE 2
| Geographic distribution of articles | N | % |
| All of Armenia | 247 | 17.7 |
| Yerevan | 894 | 64.1 |
| Lori | 7 | 0.5 |
| Tavush | 8 | 0.6 |
| Shirak | 46 | 3.3 |
| Aragatsotn | 9 | 0.6 |
| Kotayk | 59 | 4.2 |
| Armavir | 7 | 0.5 |
| Ararat | 11 | 0.8 |
| Gegharkunik | 29 | 2.1 |
| Vayots Dzor | 25 | 1.8 |
| Syunik | 16 | 1.1 |
| No territory mentioned | 37 | 2.7 |
| Overall | 1,395 | 100 |
The fourth quarter full report available here [AM].