Rights defenders reproach Armenian authorities for restricting journalists' rights

The staff of the Armenian Parliament has admitted the illegality of its actions and returned the accreditation to the photojournalist, Lilian Galstyan, but the restriction of the freedom of media over the past year and a half has become a trend, the experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the staff of the Armenian Parliament annulled the accreditation of the photojournalist of the "Panorama.am" online edition, Lilian Galstyan, on the grounds that she had violated the ban on filming at the checkpoint of the guarded object. After the intervention of a lawyer, the Parliament's office changed its decision and Lilian Galstyan was allowed to cover the sessions of the National Assembly (Parliament).

The staff of the Armenian Parliament has actually admitted that Lilian Galstyan has been illegally deprived of her accreditation, Ashot Melikyan, the head of the Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. He has stated that the Parliament of the 8th convocation began its work with unreasonable restrictions on journalists' activities; and these restrictions, in his opinion, should be cancelled.

Shushan Doidoyan, Director of the Freedom of Information Centre, supports the opinion that the Parliament's office has admitted its mistake by restoring the accreditation of the photojournalist.

"I believe that authorities had set the goal of driving journalism into a corner," Ms Doidoyan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. Since March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic began, the work of governmental agencies has become less and less transparent, she asserts. "This dynamic became entrenched and deepened in the days of the war. And this negative process is still going on by inertia," Shushan Doidoyan has concluded.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 17, 2021 at 07:53 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.