Journalists and Operators' Activities Obstructed, Says Journalists' Union

As part of the peaceful protests and acts of civil disobedience that began this morning, representatives of law enforcement agencies and security forces have obstructed the activities of numerous journalists and operators covering the events, grossly violating their rights. This statement was issued by the Journalists' Union of Armenia.

The statement further mentions, "Participating in these actions are both regular and special police forces. Suspicious individuals wearing opaque black masks have infiltrated certain locations of the protest. It should be reminded that according to international rules, police officers must be in uniform with clearly visible identification data, including their name and surname, so that citizens can recognize or identify the police officer approaching them or detaining them. These rules are frequently not observed and violated during peaceful acts of civil disobedience by both citizens and police officers."

Today, at the intersection of Baghramyan and Proshyan streets, the head of the National Security Service, Sarkis Hovhannisyan, used brute force against journalists from mediahub.am and others, striking a journalist who posed a question and an operator recording the incident, causing damage to the latter's camera.

In another altercation with citizens, Yerkir.am journalist Lia Sargsyan lost consciousness and collapsed, requiring assistance from civilians.

On Heraci street, masked individuals pushed and struck AntiFake.am journalist David Fidanian, obstructing his filming. On Khanzhyan street, police shoved and obstructed filming work. On Khanzhyan and Sayat Nova streets, AntiFake.am journalist Ishkhan Khosrovian was pulled and obstructed from filming.

The Journalists' Union of Armenia firmly condemns the violations of the rights of journalists covering peaceful protests, calling the acts of obstructing their professional activities brazen and indicative of criminal-oligarchic gang behavior.

We demand that law enforcement strictly respect their obligation to uphold the professional activities of journalists, as enshrined in both domestic legislation and numerous international conventions.

We call on Nikol Pashinyan to hold the head of the National Security Service, Sarkis Hovhannisyan, accountable, reminding him that he is not a personal bodyguard for any individual but a state official.

In light of the incidents, we invoke the attention of the Human Rights Defender and local and international human rights organizations, as their silence and inaction further deepen the public perception that they operate on a double standard and only engage in human rights protection based on political convenience.

The Journalists' Union of Armenia will monitor all instances of rights violations against journalists covering political processes and will document them with the aim of holding offenders accountable in the future.