ArmInfo.The heads of more than twenty leading Armenian media organizations issued a statement today expressing their deep concern about the violation of the principles of democracy and freedom of speech by the country's authorities.
The statement was made in connection with the initiation of disciplinary proceedings by the RA Ministry of Justice against judge Zaruhi Nakhshkaryan for criticizing the decision of the Supreme Judicial Council (SCJ) and supporting her colleague, judge Anna Pilosyan.
The petition to bring judge Z. Nakhshkaryan to disciplinary liability published in the Armenian mass media, clearly testified to the fact that the executive power took as a basis the media publications expressing the judge's opinion on the issue of public resonance.
In this regard, the representatives of the media and journalistic organizations express their indignation and concern that the expression of an opinion by the judge directly related to the judiciary and arising from the public interest was considered as a punishable act.
<This is a direct attack on the constitutional value of freedom of speech, since if a judge is punished for the act attributed to her, society will be deprived of the opportunity to get acquainted with the alternative opinions of judges in debates that are of great importance from the point of view of democracy. We call on the authorities to give up such a dangerous initiative, and the international organizations involved in freedom of speech to give an appropriate assessment>, the statement reads.
The leadership of the ArmInfo news agency also joined its 23 partners and signed the statement.