On 4 September 2017, Hripsime Jebejyan, a journalist from “Aravot.am” applied to the General Jurisdiction Court of Malatya-Sebastya Administrative District of Yerevan with support from the Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression complaining against the decisions of the police and the prosecutor’s office to refuse to institute a criminal case on the fact of threatening and insulting her.

On 14 May, the day of elections to Yerevan Municipality, Hripsime Jebejyan recorded incidents of open voting in the polling station no 7/46. Having noticed that after voting the voters showed the ballot to Arayik Gevorgyan from the “Armenian Renaissance” party, the journalist inquired from him why the voters were showing him the ballots. Arayik Gevorgyan found the question disturbing and shouted ‘Are you slandering me?’ and started waving his hands, shouting, threaning and insulting the journalist: ‘If you were a man, I would break your mouth, then you would see, look at this bitch …’

The court hearings were held on 23 September, 6 and 17 October, while on 17 November 2017 the Court dismissed the complaint on the pretext of absence of the fact of obstruction of the professional journalistic activity. Hripsime Jebejyan appealed the decision. On 26 January 2018, the Criminal Court of Appeal rejected the journalist’s complaint. On 29 March, Hripsime Jebejyan applied to the RA Cassation Court. On 25 May, the Cassation Court refused to admit the appeal of Hripsime Jebejyan from aravot.am against the judicial acts of the first-instance and appeal courts.