2014 Annual Report: 65 Incidents of Journalists’ Rights Violations

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.