Human Rights Defender Appeals to Tigran Avinyan Regarding Mask Requirements in Broadcast Studios

The Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan has sent letters to Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan regarding the requirement to wear masks in broadcast studios. This was reported by the Union of Journalists of Armenia.

On July 10, the President of the Union of Journalists of Armenia, Satik Seyranian, appealed to the Human Rights Defender concerning the mandatory requirement imposed by the commandant's office regarding masks in broadcast studios. It should be noted that the President of the Union of Journalists and several media leaders addressed the Deputy Prime Minister and Commandant Tigran Avinyan through an official letter and public statement concerning this issue. As of today, there has been no response.

The appeal outlined all the justifications proving that the requirement to wear masks in broadcast studios is unnecessary and, in many cases, impossible, noting that this requirement creates unnecessary obstacles for the presenters working in the studio. In no country in the world are presenters or their guests required to wear masks in television studios.

In response to the letter from the Chairman of the Union of Journalists, the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, indicated that he had sent letters to the Deputy Prime Minister and Commandant Tigran Avinyan to obtain the necessary information, adding that he would provide further updates on the results.

“I find it necessary to emphasize that the issue related to the visit of police officers to the offices of ‘Armennews’ and ‘5th Channel’ media outlets is under our attention, and I have made a public statement regarding this, as well as sent letters to the Chief of the Police of Armenia and the Chairman of the Television and Radio Commission for clarification,” Tatoyan wrote in his response to Union President S. Seyranian,” the statement posted on the union's Facebook page read.