Today in the Court of First Instance of Nork- Marash administrative districts hearing was headed by Judge Gayane Karakhanyan on the case of Zaryhi Postanjian, Deputy of the National Assembly from the Heritage political party, versus Prosecutor's office.

Ms. Postanjian seeing a publication in Azatamtutyun newspaper, composed of a photo-collage of her face with a naked body and insulting text, applied to the Prosecutor's office to start a criminal case against the newspaper editor Artyom Khachatryan and journalists Kima Yeghiazaryan and Lousine Kesoyan, demanding holding them to account.  The Prosecutor's office decided that there was no criminal case and declined the application. 

This decision was protested by Ms. Postanjian in the court.

Hayk Aloumyan, the lawyer of Zaruhi Postanjian, at the previous court session tried to obtain information on what would happen if the prosecutors' professional activities were covered with the same methods.  Prosecutor Sergey Abrahamyan could not give any clear answer to this question.  

"They accept that the collage is insulting to Ms. Postanjian and there were insulting phrases but they say that this is not a punishable criminal case, because it was a way of evaluation of Ms. Postanjians' professional activity.  Thus, they believe that in our country while appraising somebody's professional activity, people can use any expressions, and I congratulate them and promise that we also, while talking about the professional activity of the prosecutors, will not restrict ourselves," said Mr. Aloumyan.

Prosecutor Abrahamyan qualified this approach of the lawyer as threatening.

Judge Karakhanyan listened to the sides and left the courtroom.  The decision will be announced on March 26^th.

Rouzan Avoyan