In his review of the yearly report on freedom of speech for 2010, the Head of the Committee of Freedom of Speech Ashot Melikyan stated that new limitations caused by legal gaps were registered.

At the press conference on February 9, Ashot Melikyan referred to the case, initiated by the National Assembly deputies Samvel Alexanyan, Levon Sargsyan and Rouben Hayrapetyan against the newspaper Haykakan Zhamanak, which resulted in the court decision that the newspaper provides a compensation of 2 million 44 thousand drams to each person.

The organization's lawyer Olga Safaryan mentioned that the legal basis of the decision is the newly amended Article 1087 of the Civil Code. She stated that the Article regulates the compensation and conditions in cases where human dignity, honor and good reputation were damaged.  She noted that the majority of the cases submitted to the court are initiated against the mass media.  

"The decision was made on the legal basis, for the law refines the penalty up to 200 times of the minimal salary, and the court has not exceeded this limit. However, the article clearly states that the court should consider the method and means of the information dissemination and the material position of those who disseminate the information", says the lawyer.

Melikyan added that after publication of the article on November 14, the newspaper published an announcement, in which it informed that the article was published in its uncorrected version and also published another article, which clearly referred to the source of information.

"In fact, the editorial staff did not wait for the court session and discovered its source of information. Even if the newspaper had made a mistake, the editorial staff felt its mistake, and not consideration of this fact leaves a strange impression.  The court adjudged the maximum of the penalty, but we always stated that 2 million drams for the penalty is too much, they said that the newspapers must feel the pain for making a mistake. Sounds like revenge", says Melikyan.

Melikyan informed that the number of violent actions reduced in 2010 compared to 2009.  In 2009 there were 11 cases, and 9 cases were registered in 2010, of which 5 happened on January 10, 2010 on the day of extraordinary elections after the mandate of Khachatur Sukiassyan was laid down.

The committee registered 19 cases of other kind of pressure on mass media and journalists, which is more by 5 compared to 2009. The number of the violation of the right to information increased: in 2009 there were 13 cases, and in 2010 - 18 cases of violation.

This year there were days, when the whole run of newspapers was sold out. For example, on January 13, Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper was sold in different regions of Yerevan.  It can be supposed this happened because of the newspaper published an article about violent conflict between the supporters of deputies Seyran Saroyan and Levon Sargsyan at Giani entertainment center, says Melikyan.

The Head of the Committee mentioned one of the sensational cases of the last year, when the former mayor of Yerevan Gagik Beglaryan sent special people to the father of the reporter of Haykakan Zhamanak to ask him to influence his daughter not to write articles which Gagik Beglaryan did not like.

"Or everybody knows about the phone call of the Head of Armavir military station Grisha Sargsyan to The Fourth Power newspaper, when he threatened Zaruhi Tovmassyan and Gagik Shamshyan", said Melikyan.  

He believes that in many other cases threatened journalists keep silence and try to solve their issues themselves.

Karine Ionesyan

Source: www.hra.am