Director of Artsakh's NSS Threatens Journalist

Artsakh’s law enforcement agencies are hindering the professional activities of CivilNet correspondent Haik Ghazaryan, who is facing pressure. The media outlet has issued a statement.

“CivilNet’s correspondent in Artsakh, Haik Ghazaryan, reported on protests occurring in front of the NSS and the Prosecutor’s Office on July 8 and 9. Lawyers Roman Yeritsyan and Rafael Jhangiryan argue that the professional rights of the lawyer have been violated as they are not allowed to meet with their client Arman Israelyan.

On July 9, the protest by Israelyan’s lawyers, along with family and relatives, moved to the Prosecutor’s Office building, where a confrontation later occurred between Israelyan’s lawyers and the police. During the clash, one police officer, fully aware of Ghazaryan’s journalistic status (as he was wearing a visible press badge), confiscated his phone, which was being used to take photos and videos of the protest.

After intervention from Artsakh’s Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan, Ghazaryan retrieved his phone from the Artsakh police, from which videos recorded during the protest had already been deleted (the phone was not returned immediately, but rather after a 20-30 minute visit to the police station). Ghazaryan found out that the person who confiscated the phone was Colonel Arayik Gasparyan, head of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Artsakh. He provided implausible justifications regarding the confiscation of the phone.

Following the incident, the journalist went live on Facebook to present what happened and demand clarifications from the police and the Minister of Internal Affairs. The next day, journalist Haik Ghazaryan was summoned to Artsakh’s NSS, where its head, Ararat Melkumyan, spoke to him in a harsh and threatening tone, demanding he publicly apologize via a live broadcast to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and NSS employees.

The NSS chief’s demand turned into pressure and threats, with a high-ranking NSS official stating that a relative of one of the officers could cause harm to the journalist, even though such matters are precisely the responsibility of law enforcement officers. Artsakh’s law enforcement agencies are obstructing the professional activities of the Artsakh reporter, and he is under pressure.

We urge the heads of law enforcement to immediately cease these actions that exceed legal boundaries and focus on their work related to the conditions of the blockade,” the statement says.