Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan has sued CivilNet and encourages his father to file a lawsuit against the media outlet, too.

The lawsuit follows the investigative article by CivilNet journalists Mkrtich Karapetyan and Ani Grigoryan titled “Armenia’s Former Deputy PM Oversaw Project That Benefited His Family Company
,” which was jointly produced with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

Tigran Avinyan addressed the investigation during a “Factor” TV debate on December 18, where he spoke with former mayor Hayk Marutyan. He referred to the article as a “lie.” During the discussion, Avinyan remarked that “the media has become a big garbage dump.” When the host asked for clarification, he he clarified “some media outlets.”

“Your beloved CivilNet writes articles, and a lawsuit is already pending. I encourage my father to file a lawsuit, too, due to the inaccuracies in this article. My father and no one else in my family has ever held any position,” said Avinyan.

The article delves into T. Avinyan’s career: “While his political star was rising, Avinyan’s family business was also benefiting from state funds doled out in programs that he oversaw,” Specifically, it mentions that the Avinyan family’s company Irrigate LLC served as a contractor for nine beneficiaries of a state support program aimed at establishing intensive grape orchards using modern technologies. These beneficiaries received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the government to establish their orchards.

According to the judicial information website Datalex, Tigran Avinyan is demanding a public apology from the media, specifically calling for a public refutation of the allegedly defamatory statements against him and financial compensation.

During the investigation, the article notes that CivilNet attempted to contact Avinyan, his family members, and the municipality spokesperson for comments but did not receive any responses to their inquiries.

Under the mass media law, the Avinyans’ could have requested the editorial office to retract the article, but they did not exercise this right.

In a conversation with Media.am, CivilNet’s editor-in-chief, Karen Harutyunyan, stated that instead of reaching out for clarification after the publication of their article, Avinyan filed a lawsuit in court weeks later, on December 10. Harutyunyan emphasized that following the mayor’s statement, they did not recheck the claims made in the article.” We are confident that the content is accurate,” he said, noting that suing the media is not an effective way to engage with them or seek clarification.

Liana Sayadyan, the deputy editor of “Hetq” mentioned in a conversation with Media.am that she does not understand why the mayor and his family did not request a correction from the media if they claim there are “inaccuracies.”

Perhaps the media would be willing to issue a denial or provide clarifications if there were valid grounds for it. If they go straight to court, it suggests they either don’t understand the law on mass media or are unnecessarily burdening the court system,” said Sayadyan.

The deputy editor noted that the journalists had performed their work conscientiously; before publishing, they had attempted to reach out to Tigran Avinyan and his family but received no response.

“Everything will be proven in court. If the official has made this decision, he should proceed with a lawsuit. At Hetq, we remain calm when officials take legal action against us. In this case, Mayor Tigran Avinyan needs to explain in court why he did not respond to journalists’ questions and did not pursue extrajudicial measures of defense, such as providing an answer or a denial, as required by law.”

As for Tigran Avinyan’s comment about the media being a “garbage dump,” Liana Sayadyan deemed it inappropriate. As a public figure, Tigran Avinyan should have chosen his words more carefully.

Liana Sayadyan claims that Nikol Pashinyan was the first to adopt an intolerant stance toward the media. “The Prime minister signaled this approach right after the revolution by targeting the media for critical articles or unfavorable publications. Subsequently, officials of various ranks began labeling the media. This behavior is typical of many Civil Contract political team members,” Sayadyan stated.

The deputy editor stated that politicians who confront the media do not gain anything, particularly when using such vocabulary.