Criminal case over restriction of journalist’s professional activity launched in Armenia https://t.co/cjZY2oUGUV
— JAMnews (@JAMnewsCaucasus) May 16, 2017
Expression
There were several reports of journalists being threatened during the May 2017 municipal elections. Sisak Gabrielian, an Armenian reporter with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was threatened and forced to stop recording incidents of voters being bribed by activists from the ruling Republican Party (HHK). As previously reported on the Monitor, Gabrielian was also prevented from filming during the parliamentary elections in April, when he witnessed another case of bribery at a polling station on election day.
Anna Zakharyan, a reporter for the Haykakan Zhamanak (Armenian Times) newspaper, was also attacked while trying to film the distribution of pre-marked ballots and monetary bribes at the campaign headquarters of an HHK candidate. HKK supporters confiscated her phone without her permission and deleted its contents. Zakharyan eventually managed to restore and disseminate the video footage of the incident.
As the above-mentioned incidents show, the safety and security of media professionals in Armenia has become more of a concern. Reporters without Borders ranked Armenia 79th of 180 countries in its 2017 World Press Freedom Index, five positions lower than its 2016 ranking. As the EVN Report noted, the current lower ranking on the Index is also due to the fact that several journalists were injured during the July 2016 protests in Yerevan.
#Vote buying, #bribery & voter intimidation was common during #armvote2017.#Armenia needs #whistleblowing legislation to support #transition pic.twitter.com/51wUoQewTd
— Civil Society Forum (@eapcsf) May 10, 2017
Association
On 10th May 2017, Armenian civil society expressed concern over the mishandling of European Union (EU) funds by public institutions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in a statement entitled “On the misuse of EU grants". The Armenian National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum identified several criminal cases involving corruption and fraud by beneficiaries of EU-funded projects. The Platform called for greater support from the EU delegation in Armenia to monitor the allocation and use of EU funds. It also called for greater transparency in grant-making competitions and in the implementation of project-related activities and events. The Platform is comprised of over 20 Armenian NGOs that form partnerships with NGOs in EU member states to strengthen cross-border cooperation and build a stronger civil society sector in Armenia.
Peaceful Assembly
Participants in the 2015 "Electric Yerevan" protests still face intimidation during judicial proceedings and some have had their right to a free and fair trial violated. The Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor reported on the case of Mikayel Kirakosyan who filed a judicial complaint in 2015 over injuries he sustained while being detained by police at the protests. Kirakosyan's trial was recently postponed almost a month due to the absence of the prosecutor.