At Least 5 Journalists Injured Due to Police Actions Near NSS Building

A number of journalism organizations have issued a statement regarding the journalists injured during the coverage of the rally of Gagik Tsarukyan's supporters, which took place yesterday. The statement is as follows:

On June 16, when the leader of the Prosperous Armenia party, Gagik Tsarukyan, exited the premises of the National Security Service after his interrogation, at least 5 journalists covering the event were injured due to the ensuing scuffle and police actions. In particular, the injured include Liana Sargsyan, reporter for News.am, Ani Gevorgyan from Tert.am, Tatevik Konstantyan from Yerkir.am, Arthur Hakobyan from Kentron TV, and Margarita Davtyan, editor of MegaNews.am.

According to the injured journalists, during the chaos, media staff found themselves surrounded by police, after which they were subjected to assaults. Regardless of whether these actions were intentional or resulted from negligence or insufficient professional preparedness, we note that law enforcement not only failed to protect journalists but also obstructed their work.

We, the undersigned journalism organizations, condemn any violence against representatives of the media performing their professional duties and demand that the Armenian police conduct an objective investigation into this incident and hold those responsible accountable.

At the same time, considering that these events occur within the framework of the coronavirus-related state of emergency, we urge media leaders to keep their staff away from mass gatherings to avoid being in hotspots of human congestion, and if this is not possible, to provide clear instructions for ensuring safety.

Signed by the Free Speech Protection Committee, Center for Media Initiatives, Asparez Journalists’ Club, Information Freedom Center, Public Journalism Club, Journalists for the Future NGO, and Journalists for Human Rights NGO.