25 April 2007



IPI Publishes World Press Freedom Review 2006. The IPI World Press Freedom
Review 2006 is the Vienna-based International Press Institute’s annual review of
press freedom in over 180 countries around the world.With 100 Journalists
Killed, 2006 was the Most Brutal Year in the Modern Media’s History.

2006 World Press Freedom Review - Armenia

According to various studies and reports, while its human rights records
showed some improvement, media freedoms remain limited in Armenia. The
independent media has been under pressure, and the broadcast media remain
pro-government. Independent television station A1+ was once again refused a
broadcast license in 2006, the 11th time since it was taken off the air in 2002.
There are many diverse newspapers available, but many suffer from a lack of
finances and there are economic problems.

In some regions, such as Nagorno-Karabakh, the problems are even worse. Salaries
are low, information is hard to come by, and many independent papers depend on
sponsorship to survive because advertising is scarce and the population often
cannot afford to buy newspapers.

In a statement to journalists in Yerevan on 21 June, Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE
Representative on Freedom of the Media, said that despite "significant progress"
in improving Armenia’s media legislation, "real pluralism" remains limited,
especially in the electronic media.

In a positive development, Haraszti said that the Armenian authorities had
assured him that the relevant legislation with respect to granting broadcasting
licences is to be amended and made more transparent.

The A1+ channel remained off air in 2006. Meltex, the company, which founded the
channel and its Web site successor, was evicted from its premises in the
National Academy of Sciences. Alternative premises were offered to the company
by the State Property Management Department, but reportedly, the space is much
smaller than the initial premises. A1+ was forced to discontinue broadcasting in
2002, and all its efforts to acquire a new frequency have failed. In March, it
made two more attempts to obtain broadcasting licenses.

In the biggest case of the year, on 26 June, Arman Babadjanian, the editor of
the independent daily Zhamanak Yerevan ("Yerevan Times"), was arrested on
suspicion of evading military service in 2002. His colleagues said they believe
this to be a politically motivated attack, and that it came as revenge for the
publication in Zhamanak Yerevan of materials criticizing the Armenian
government. According to reports, three Armenian NGOs representing journalists
also condemned Babadjanian’s detention. On 30 June, Babadjanian released a
statement, where he also said that his arrest was politically motivated.

According to RFE/RL, Babadjanian said his detention was to silence an
independent media outlet that was not afraid to criticise the regime.
Prosecutors said that Babadjanian, who was in pre-trial custody for two months,
confessed to the charge against him. Babadjanian’s statement made no mention of
any such confession.

On 5 July, the editors of the newspapers Azg, Aravot, Chorrord ishkhanutiun, 168
zham, Iravunk, Haykakan zhamanak, and Taregir published a joint statement in
their editions condemning the arrest of Babadjanian. The seven editors wrote
that the charges may have been politically motivated, and demanded Babadjanian’s
release from pre-trial custody. The heads of six human rights NGOs, among them
the Yerevan Press Club, Internews Armenia, the Committee to Protect Freedom of
Expression, and the Helsinki Committee of Armenia, issued a similar statement on
5 July seeking Babadzhanian’s release on bail. On 12 July, an appeals court down
turned the petition signed by fellow journalists and several parliamentarians
against the ruling of a lower court keeping Babadjanian in pretrial detention
for two months.

For three days after the arrest, Babadjanian’s colleagues from Zhamanak Yerevan
held protests in front of the office of the prosecutor general. The protestors
demanded his release and said the case was politically motivated, coming as a
result of the newspaper’s critical editorial stance.

Babadjanian went on trial on charges of evading Armenia’s compulsory two year
military service by presenting false documents. A court in Yerevan sentenced him
to four years in prison on 8 September.

Reportedly, the prosecutor’s refusal to release Babadjanian on bail was very
unusual in this type of case, and the sentence he received was higher than that
usually given in such cases, usually the sentence is between one and three
years.

According to reports, Babadjanian was initially summoned to the prosecutor
general’s office for questioning as a witness in a criminal case. However, he
was instead detained on charges of forging documents to avoid military draft.
Babadjanian pleaded guilty to charges of draft evasion, but human rights groups
had questioned the authorities’ actions and motives. Zhamanak Yerevan published
an article questioning the independence of the office of the prosecutor general
a few days before the journalist’s arrest. According to the London-based
Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), the authorities did not explain
why they waited to charge Babadjanian on a violation from 2002.

On 18 July, editors of eight leading newspapers, together with the heads of
several NGOs, issued a joint statement, expressing concern at the increasing
pressure on journalists, who criticise the authorities. Particular reference was
made to the case of Babadjanian. RFE/RL reported that Boris Navasardian, head of
the Yerevan Press Club, said he deplored the Armenian authorities’ failure to
respond to instances of violence against journalists.

Hovannes Harutiunian, one of 13 men convicted in November 2003 of murdering the
former Public Television and Radio head, Tigran Naghdalian, was released on
parole on 12 July. This came as part of a 27 June presidential decree, which
eased the requirements for parole. His 10 months of pre-trial detention were
counted toward the completion of two thirds of his seven-year sentence.

Journalists continue to be harassed and assaulted for their work; physical
attacks on journalists also take place. For example, Davit Jalalyan, sports
reporter for the Haykakan Zhamanak, was attacked and knifed by an unknown
individual on 30 January. The journalist had earlier received a telephone call
and the attacker first alluded to that call and then attacked. Jalayan was not
seriously injured. Nikol Pashinyan, editor-in-chief of the paper, believes that
the attack is connected with Jalalyan’s work. Police started an investigation of
the attack.

On 6 September, Hovhannes Galadjian, the editor-in-chief of the independent
weekly Iravunk ("Law"), was attacked in Yerevan by two men. According to RFE/RL,
Galadjian believes the attack came in response to articles critical of the
Armenian government.

On 2 October, the Armenian parliament voted to reject a controversial government
bill, which would have led to reform of the state body regulating television and
radio broadcasts in the country, the National Commission on Television and Radio
(HRAH). The bill had been strongly criticised by Armenian media associations,
who argued that the bill would not adequately ensure the independence of HRAH.