
17
Dec 2019
Lvl. 2
State replied
Alert created on: 14 Oct 2019
n° 123/2019
Armenia
Attack on Online Portal Hayeli.am
Source of threatNon-state
CategoryHarassment and intimidation of journalists
A group of four government supporters attacked the offices of the online portal Hayeli.am, highly critical of the Armenian authorities, on 5 October 2019. They threw eggs and posted offensive posters at the entrance of the offices of the publication in Yerevan, the capital of the country.
The four suspects are all known as ardent supporters of Armenian Prime Minister and were protesting against a headline published by the news website the previous week, considered pro-Azerbaijani: “Aliyev’s belated but ‘strong’ response to Pashinian”. The article was about Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s public reaction to a statement on Nagorno-Karabakh made by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
“They are lucky because their door is closed. We want to put all this stuff into their office”, said one of the perpetrators, and another one demanded that the media outlet should be closed.
The police launched an investigation into obstruction of the professional and legal work of journalists, which is a criminal offence in Armenia. The four men were interrogated and released with a signature bond imposed as a measure of restraint.
The attack was condemned by all political parties represented in the Armenian parliament and by some members of the government.
The four suspects are all known as ardent supporters of Armenian Prime Minister and were protesting against a headline published by the news website the previous week, considered pro-Azerbaijani: “Aliyev’s belated but ‘strong’ response to Pashinian”. The article was about Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s public reaction to a statement on Nagorno-Karabakh made by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
“They are lucky because their door is closed. We want to put all this stuff into their office”, said one of the perpetrators, and another one demanded that the media outlet should be closed.
The police launched an investigation into obstruction of the professional and legal work of journalists, which is a criminal offence in Armenia. The four men were interrogated and released with a signature bond imposed as a measure of restraint.
The attack was condemned by all political parties represented in the Armenian parliament and by some members of the government.
Additional Information
State replies
Reply from the Armenian Republic authorities