In the first quarter of 2024, the Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression recorded 17 cases of various pressures on journalists and media and 41 cases of violations of the right to receive and disseminate information. One of the positive features of the period under review is that there was no case of physical violence against media representatives.
In contrast to this, the flow of lawsuits against media and journalists has increased. 12 such new lawsuits were filed in January-March, which is 3 more compared to the same period in 2023. 5 out of those 12 lawsuits were filed by state officials, 6 by business circles, and 1 by an ordinary citizen.
During the quarter, the above-mentioned 17 cases of pressure were also manifested by indecent treatment of journalists and cameramen, threats in the online domain, and obstruction of lawful professional activities, which are presented in the relevant sections of the report. 10 journalistic organizations issued statements regarding the most problematic cases.
The situation remains alarming in terms of violations of the right to receive and disseminate information. Although on February 7 this problem was discussed in the RA Government at the meeting organized by the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, which was attended by officials of state bodies and heads of journalistic and human rights non-governmental organizations, there is no improvement in practice. The problems of freedom of information registered during the first quarter were manifested by the unjustified rejection of the inquiries received by the state bodies, unnecessary delays in providing answers and violation of the terms and order stipulated by the law, by purely formal responses that do not correspond to the essence of the issues or bypass them. In some cases, the authors of the inquiries applied to the court with a demand to oblige them to provide information. During the months under review, 2 such lawsuits were filed.
From the point of view of ensuring the availability of official information, the initiative of the executive power to amend and modernize the Law on Freedom of Information was particularly noteworthy. Its new draft, which was developed by the RA Ministry of High-Tech Industry and posted on the e-draft.am website, received sharp criticism from journalistic and human rights non-governmental organizations at the beginning of the year. Although it was planned to make maximum use of modern technologies in this field through legislative amendments and addenda, which is certainly a positive approach, in terms of the right to freedom of information itself, that draft was evaluated in expert circles as retrogressive compared to the existing law. As a result, the Ministry reformed the bill and prepared a package, the basis of which is the draft of the new Law on Public Information. The latter is combined with draft amendments and addenda to a number of related laws, including the Law on Freedom of Information. From February 26 to March 12, that package was posted on the official e-draft.am website. Many remarks and recommendations from expert circles have been submitted to the Ministry that authored the bills, and professional discussions are ongoing.
In the same period, works were also carried out in the direction of making amendments and addenda to the Law on Media and related laws. According to the Memorandum of Cooperation signed in April 2022, these works are jointly carried out by the NA Profile Committee, the Ministry of Justice and journalistic non-governmental organizations that have joined the Memorandum. The envisaged amendments are aimed at the dissemination of quality journalism, encouraging the establishment and development of the media self-regulation system based on the norms of professional ethics. The package has been submitted to the RA Government and will be sent to the National Assembly if approved.
