ECHR Rules in Favor of 'Haykakan Jamanak' Against Robert Kocharian; Armenia to Pay €9,000

On Independence Day, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) announced its ruling, granting my complaint filed on behalf of ‘Dareskizb’ LLC (Haykakan Jamanak newspaper) against the second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, regarding the March 1, 2008 decree. This was reported by attorney Tigran Atanesyan on his Facebook page.

He specifically noted, “The ECHR found that the decree violated Article 10 of the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and Article 6, as domestic courts were inaccessible to the claimant. Legally, this means that the decree declaring a state of emergency on March 1 is no longer valid, which may lead to new criminal prosecutions against R. Kocharian.”

“I personally filed the complaint at my own initiative, even paying for postal deliveries out of my own pocket. ‘Dareskizb’ LLC was only formally linked to this complaint, their intellect did not particularly allow them to understand what complaint was being filed. At that time, I acted with the confidence that satisfying the complaint would assist in building a better state for my country.”

“Now, after the national catastrophe organized and executed by the editor-in-chief of the ‘Haykakan Jamanak’ newspaper, I have very mixed feelings about this ruling and I ask not to congratulate me.”

“I forgot to mention that the formal applicant will receive €9,000 as compensation for moral damages,” he added. It is noteworthy that the case pertains to the actions of state entities during the state of emergency following the 2008 presidential elections, during which the printing of the applicant company’s newspaper, ‘Haykakan Jamanak', was obstructed.