ArmInfo.. The extraordinary parliamentary elections held on December 9 in Armenia were qualitatively different from all previous ones in terms of providing favorable conditions for the activities of journalists. This is stated in a statement by a number of journalistic organizations in the country.
According to the authors of the statement, this fact is an unprecedented phenomenon that needs to be turned into a tradition. At the same time, as the authors of the document note, there have been cases of intervention by security forces in the activities of the media. In particular, on December 7, police officers carried out illegal actions in relation to the editorial staff of the News.am information site. Law enforcers demanded to provide the content of an online speech of one of the political figures, which is a curiosity in terms of media standards and law. Prior to this, on November 20, a similar unreasonable demand was made against the editors of Aysor.am. In addition, the statement says, so far, the Police and the Investigative Committee have not provided the public with any serious justifications about the searches conducted in "Yerevan.today" and their results.
From the point of view of freedom of speech and free media activity, it is a matter of concern that, in parallel with the development of democracy, law enforcement agencies often exercise arbitrariness in relation to the media.
"In view of the above, we urge the new authorities formed after the elections to take steps to prevent unlawful police actions against the media and to enable more favorable conditions for the free activities of journalists and the media, regardless of their political orientation", -the "Committee for the Protection of Freedom of Expression", the "Yerevan Press Club", the "Center for Media Initiatives", the journalistic club "Asparez", etc.