The book "Violence, Pressure and Legal Actions against Reporters and Media Outlets in Armenia in 2008-2009: Cases and Analysis" published by "Investigative Journalists" NGO with the assistance of OSCE Yerevan Office, includes cases of violence against reporters for the last two years.

Topics of the book are the publications of the internet site hetq.am: cases of violence, legal actions instituted against reporters for offense and slander. In the book the events are presented with facts, there are also analyses in the Armenian and international legislation context, court verdicts are given legal assessments.

Carel Hofstra, acting head of the OSCE Yerevan office believes that the topic of the book is important for the society of any county that has chosen a democratic route.     

Deputy editor of "Hetq" Liana Sayadyan says that the number of cases of violence and threats against reporters grows both in the world and in Armenia and that during the last two decades, especially during politically active years a tendency of silencing reporters is noticed in Armenia. Law enforcement agencies do not manifest political will to reveals such cases.

According to him in the first part of the book cases are presented when police while instituting criminal cases did not carry out appropriate investigative actions and witnesses were not questioned.

"All court cases have been analyzed in the context of Armenian legislation and Article 10 of European Convention and in the light of precedents of the European Court," says the preface of the book.  

Editor-in-chief of "Hetq" Edik Baghdasaryan says when dealing with criminal cases you come across non-professionalism all the time. 

"First in Armenia they take a political decision for everything; second, law enforcement agencies make such mistakes during preliminary investigation that later at the court nothing can be recovered, e.g. site examination, finger prints etc. They pay attention to nothing," Baghadasaryan says.

In his words the reporter's right is not higher that that of a peasant. All are equal. But on the whole reporters are in an advantageous position since they can at least write and thus protect themselves.

In the editor's opinion difficulties arise especially when working with law enforcement officers when they give not concrete but general answers. 

"Often we get an answer and are obliged to make a new inquiry for that answer. It's absurd. Generally all our structures are closed when you ask a concrete question. For instance, in the case with New Year presents at the State Revenues Committee the biggest problem was the continuation - where did they get watches for 1 million drams, foodstuff etc? Who were awarded with 1 million dram watches? And when you start asking these questions, you get no answers," he says. 

In Baghdasaryan's opinion, in Armenia a political decision should be taken for everything and for violence against reporters no political decision is made, that's why no case is revealed.