November 15, 2024, Yerevan
On November 14, 2024, another incident of obstruction of a journalist’s activities occurred in the National Assembly. When Lusineh Shahverdyan, a correspondent for “Hraparak” daily, tried to get a comment from Srbuhi Galyan, the RA Minister of Justice, an officer of the State Protection Service present at the scene, deciding that the official did not want to continue the exchange, grabbed the journalist’s arm and pulled her aside, resulting in a bruise left on Lusine Shahverdyan’s arm. The incident was captured on video and is available on the Internet.
This is not the first case when security officers act with apparent arbitrariness, obstructing the legitimate activities of journalists accredited to parliament. One of the most striking examples is when tensions rise in the session hall, and deputies engage in physical altercations, the SPS officers storm the press box, force media representatives to leave and stop filming. A number of other similar cases have also been recorded.
Regarding the violence against “Hraparak” correspondent, the motives behind the actions of the SPS officer remain unclear at best: why would the officer interfere in a conversation between the journalist and the minister, when neither of them needed his “help” and sought his involvement? Who allowed the officer to eavesdrop on the dialogue between the journalist and the minister? And finally, who gave him the right to decide at what point the correspondent accredited to the National Assembly should be forcibly taken away from the interlocutor?
We, the undersigned journalistic organizations, express our indignation over yet another incident of obstruction of a journalist’s work in parliament, strongly condemn the violence against her, and demand:
- the State Protection Service to immediately launch an internal investigation into the security officer(s) who were involved in the incident and evidently abused their authority;
- The NA leadership to engage with the SPS and take measures, ensuring that security officers do not go beyond acceptable boundaries while performing their duties and do not obstruct the legitimate activities of journalists.
COMMITTEE TO PROTECT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
YEREVAN PRESS CLUB
MEDIA INITIATIVES CENTER
MEDIA DIVERSITY INSTITUTE-ARMENIA
PUBLIC JOURNALISM CLUB
“JOURNALISTS FOR THE FUTURE” NGO
“JOURNALISTS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS” NGO
GORIS PRESS CLUB
