Russia Today Calls Arrest of Sputnik Armenia Journalist Provocation and Demands Justifications

The media group Russia Today is aware of the arrest of Ashot Gevorgyan, a columnist for Sputnik Armenia. This was reported by RIA Novosti, citing the group's press service.

“The arrest of the journalist, especially against the backdrop of the first Armenian-Russian media forum, demands justifications,” the statement reads. Russia Today expects objectivity and impartiality in the investigation, stating, “We are following the developments closely.”

“Possible provocations aimed at undermining the friendship between the fraternal peoples of Russia and Armenia must be immediately halted,” the media group has stated.

Earlier, it was reported that pro-Russian blogger Mika Badalyan and columnist Ashot Gevorgyan from Sputnik Armenia were arrested the day before in Goris.

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, also reacted to the situation. “Their provocation comes from those who are dreaming of how to destroy the relations between the two countries. The West has invested a great deal of money in this. It is evident that the forces aimed at this have intensified recently. I refuse to accept that the authorities, who come with the slogan 'freedom of speech is everyone's absolute right', will permit the persecution of journalists and block the dissemination of information,” she wrote on her Telegram channel.

The spokesperson for the Investigative Committee of Armenia, Gor Abrahamyan, wrote that based on the features of part 2 of Article 335 of the RA Criminal Code, a criminal case initiated by the RA NSS and transferred to the Investigative Committee has led to the arrest of a total of seven individuals in the Syunik region on September 6 and 7, including Mika Badalyan and Ashot Gevorgyan.
“An investigative group has been formed. Currently, investigative and procedural actions are being carried out. The Investigative Committee of Armenia will later issue a statement regarding the circumstances of the case,” he wrote.