Head of Armenia’s Judicial Department Misak Martirosyan has sued local daily Hraparak. On the basis of the lawsuit, Judge Karine Petrosyan of the Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork Marash Administrative Districts ruled in favour of a suspension on the paper’s property and a moratorium on disseminating any information or making any statements on the court case.

 

The editors became aware of the proceedings against them only when the Judicial Acts Compulsory Enforcement Service employee paid them a visit — with the purpose of enforcing the court ruling. 

 

Hraparak editor Armine Ohanyan says she received neither a notice of intent to file a lawsuit nor the court ruling. Ohanyan assumes the suit might be tied to recent reports about Misak Martirosyan that several RA Judicial Department staff have appealed to RA Minister of Justice Hrair Tovmasyan and RA General Prosecutor Aghvan Hovsepyan, complaining about the department, saying that it’s like a totalitarian regime and that “Misak Minaskyan is occupied only with advancing bribery in the Judicial Department.”

 

“I don’t even know what the paper is being accused of,” said the Hraparak editor.

 

According to her, this is an unconstitutional decision based on censorship, which prohibits the dissemination of any information related to the dispute until the final ruling on the case.

 

Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression lawyer Olga Safaryan also finds the judge’s ruling to be unconstitutional.

 

“Freedom of expression can be restricted only by law, and we don’t currently have such a law,” she said.

 

In Safaryan’s words, there’s no judicial act today that restricts the constitutional norm and fulfilling such a request is completely unlawful and unconstitutional. 

 

“Prohibiting publishing articles related to the court case means that the news outlet cannot even publish the date and time of the trial. They’ve put a prohibition so that no one knows what’s happening in this case; they’ve put a taboo,” she said.

 

Media expert Mesrop Harutyunyan sent an open letter to justice minister Hrair Tovmasyan, noting that the prohibition on publishing articles is a flagrant violation of freedom of expression.

 

Harutyunyan finds that by adopting this decision, the judge breached Article 27 of Armenia’s Constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of expression, and violated the RA Law on Mass Media, Article 4 Section 3 which prohibits censorship and the enforcement of a journalist or one carrying out journalistic duties aimed at or that leads to the refrain of disseminating information.

 

The media expert also notes this flagrant violation of freedom of expression in Armenia must be strictly reprimanded — the minister should apply appropriate measures so that this is eliminated and never applied to anyone again, no matter how much it might be inclined toward protecting the interests of powerful officials.