2 December 2020, Yerevan

In the evening of December 1 the police obstructed the work of journalists during the protest act organised to demand the resignation of the RA Prime Minister Nickol Pashinyan and tried to forcibly detain Hayk Soukiasyan, the cameraman of the TV Company “Yerkir Media”.

As the director for political and news programmes of the television company “Yerkir Media” stated in a briefing with journalists, the police placed the cameraman into the car along with other participants of the rally but released him soon afterwards. The camera of the TV company was broked during the incident.

We, the undersigned media organisations deplore the violence exerted on a media worker and demand initiation of an inquiry in respect of the incident.

It is not difficult to foresee that the deep political and societal crisis would be accompanied by mass protest acts, and it is the duty of the media to ensure comprehensive coverage thereof. The police action in these extreme conditions must aim at ensuring the safety of journalists rather than imposing meaningless restrictions upon their work.

We will continue to closely follow the events and respond to any violations of the rights of journalists.

COMMITTEE TO PROTECT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
YEREVAN PRESS CLUB
MEDIA INITIATIVES CENTER
JOURNALISTS’ CLUB “ASPAREZ”
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION CENTER
MEDIA DIVERSITY INSTITUTE-ARMENIA
PUBLIC JOURNALISM CLUB
“JOURNALISTS FOR THE FUTURE” NGO
“JOURNALISTS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS” NGO
GORIS PRESS CLUB