Monday, October 25 2021 17:14

ArmInfo.International journalistic organizations join the demand of the Union of Journalists of Armenia (UJA) to revise the law that came into force on October 5, which three times increases the maximum threshold of fines for "insult" and "libel".

Today the demand of the Union of Journalists of Armenia was supported  by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European  Federation of Journalists (EFJ). These organizations, in fact,  condemned the libel law and warned of its negative impact on freedom  of speech in the country.

The libel law was adopted by the National Assembly in March 2021,  after a Facebook user posted a comment on the image of the Prime  Minister, which was considered offensive.

Nevertheless, the Constitutional Court of Armenia at that time  recognized the law as consistent with the Basic Law. The law  establishes the maximum fine for "insult" in the amount equivalent to  5,400 euros, and for "defamation" - almost 11 thousand euros.

According to a report released by the UJA, the law was sent to the  Constitutional Court after President Armen Sarkissian refused to sign  it, expressing concerns about its constitutionality and possible  impact on press freedom. "This law clearly restricts the right to  freedom of speech, which is one of the most important pillars of  democracy, one of the basic conditions for the development and  self-expression of every person," the statement of the Union of  Journalists of Armenia said.

UJA has repeatedly warned about the consequences of the law and  expressed its concerns about its impact on the media. The statement  of the UJA  notes that the European Court of Human Rights provides  for the need to take into account the economic situation of the  country when it comes to the amount of fines envisaged.

"We support the UJA against the law, which has a clear political  purpose and will have dramatic consequences for the press and the  media," IFJ General Secretary Anthony Belanger reacted to the law.   And EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutierrez, in turn, said: "From the  experience of other countries, we know that such high fines are used  to intimidate journalists in order to silence them. We urge the  Armenian authorities to revise the draft law by starting a dialogue  with our colleagues>.