In 2024, the number of recorded violations of the rights of journalists and media in Armenia overall surpassed the figures from the previous year. Cases of physical violence and various forms of pressure fluctuated in different periods of the year, depending on socio-political events in the country. The figures are as follows: 15 cases of physical violence (with 24 injured), 71 cases of various other pressures, 122 violations of the right to receive and disseminate information.
Throughout the year, physical violence against journalists and cameramen was mainly recorded in the second quarter. This period coincided with the mass protests held by opposition forces in response to the border demarcation in the RA Tavush Marz. It was during the coverage of these very events that media professionals faced violence, other obstructions to their professional activities, and pressure. In that period alone, the total number of such violations of journalists’ rights reached 20, with 13 resulting from actions by law enforcement officers and 7 by opposition protest organizers or their supporters. Apart from these incidents, another case of physical violence was recorded in the National Assembly, when a State Protection Service (SPS) officer obstructed the work of a journalist by using force.
All these cases, along with the targeting of media and their employees, as well as manifestations of insulting and disrespectful attitude towards them, are presented in this report. At the same time, the Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression and partner organizations have issued joint statements regarding the most significant cases.
Compared to the previous year, the number of lawsuits against media and journalists also increased by 7 in 2024, totaling 43. Of these, 17 were filed by state bodies or officials, 13 by business entities and/or businessmen, 3 by lawyers, 1 by an NGO, 1 by an opposition figure, and 8 by other private individuals.
The lawsuits filed by officials were mostly accompanied by demands for large sums of compensation. In this regard, the most notable figures were National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan and Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan, each having filed 3 lawsuits against media throughout the year.
The monitoring conducted in 2024 demonstrates that the situation is also problematic in the area of freedom of information. State bodies are not sufficiently open in their interactions with the media and, according to journalists’ accounts, they make a special effort to conceal the information that could, if made public, reveal deficiencies in their operations and possible abuses. The most striking example in this context was the approach taken by the Ministries of Internal Affairs and Health, when both avoided providing clear responses to media inquiries about the clashes near the National Assembly building on June 12 and the special means used. These bodies urged the editorial teams to approach the investigative bodies and, as revealed by the press, were buying time while amending internal regulatory and legal acts aimed at establishing legal foundations for the police actions.
Overall, throughout the monitoring, the issues pointed out by the CPFE in its previous reports resurfaced. The violation of the 5-day timeframe prescribed by law for providing information continues to be a widespread phenomenon (23 cases). In some cases, this process is unnecessarily prolonged and extended up to 30 days without proper justification for the additional work required during that period (11 cases). What is more problematic are the responses that are vague, incomplete and lack proper references (36 cases). State or other secrets and the protection of personal data are unfoundedly cited, disguised as a reason for not providing information that should be made public (12 cases).
On October 15, Freedom House released its “Freedom on the Net 2024” Report, in which Armenia was ranked among the “countries with Internet freedom.” Armenia’s position improved by 2 points from the previous year, reaching a total score of 74. This assessment was based on the fact that during the period under review (from June 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024), no cases of blocking social platforms and websites were recorded in Armenia. At the same time, the organization pointed to cases of obstruction to journalists’ professional activities, citing data from the 2023 Annual Report of the Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression.
