The Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Court of First Instance which deemed the act of wiretapping the editor-in-chief of “Zhoghovurd” daily Knar Manukyan’s telephone conversations as illegal.

The media outlet came to the attention of law enforcement officials after the testimony of officials in the March 1 case was published.

Within the framework of the case, Knar Manukyan was summoned to the Special Investigation Service, where she was asked to reveal the source of the information. The media refused to take that route.

The Court of First Instance upheld the SIS’s request to wiretap the editor-in-chief. After receiving one-and-a-half months of telephone conversations, the Investigative Service summoned the editor-in-chief for questioning again to find out who specifically testified in connection with the March 1 case.

This time, the media outlet did not disclose the source, as it is convinced that the preliminary investigation body could have obtained the information it needed through other methods.

Considering the incident an obstacle to professional activity, Zhoghovurd appealed to the Court of Appeals and appealed the decision on wiretapping.

This case is an interesting precedent that once again defended the journalist’s activities.

Gayane Asryan