Number of Armenian NGOs condemn attacks on mass media and Aravot.am in particular

ArmInfo.A number of non-governmental organizations in Armenia issued a statement condemning the attacks on the media, and in particular on the Aravot.am news site.

Thus, the statement received by ArmInfo notes that as a result of a  hacker attack, the YouTube channel of the Aravot.am news site was  hacked, and the entire video archive was deleted. According to the  site's editor, Anna Israelyan, this happened after the editors posted  the announcement of a video with the following content: "How and to  what extent did the revolutionary officials get rich in a warring  country during the war year? Who are the "wealthy kings" of our  days?". The  statement said that the video investigation would be  published in the coming hours.

The NGOs emphasized that this is not the first time that by a  disturbing coincidence, criticism of the authorities is followed by  hacking attacks on online platforms. "A preliminary study of the  facts by information security experts shows the technical commonality  of the emphasis of these actions. In particular, experts noticed the  coincidence of the tactics of this hack and another hacker attack  carried out on the YouTube channel of the "Union of Informed  Citizens" NGO in January of this year. Under these conditions, it is  puzzling when some representatives of the ruling political force  spread absurd and sarcastic comments on social networks, blaming the  same media for this," the statement said.

At the same time, expressing outrage at the hacker attack on the  media, NGOs demanded that law enforcement agencies accept this  statement as a message about a cybercrime and take immediate measures  to identify and bring to justice those responsible, and  representatives of the ruling political team to refrain from baseless  assumptions and comments that are nothing more than attempts to  divert attention from the essence of the problem.

The statement was signed by the the Committee to Protect Freedom of  Speech, Yerevan Press Club, Center for Media Initiatives, Media  Diversity Institute - Armenia, Asparez Journalists Club, Center for  Freedom of Information, Public Journalism Club, Journalists for the  Future NGO, Journalists for Human Rights NGO, Goris Press Club,  Femida NGO. 

Let us also add that yesterday hacker attack on the "Aravot"  publication was condemned by the Union of Journalists of Armenia.

"The Union of Journalists of Armenia strongly condemns this cyber  attack on the Aravot daily newspaper, demands that the government and  all state bodies identify the perpetrators and instigators of the  crime as soon as possible and bring them to justice. Otherwise, the  suspicions that the attack on "Aravot" was carried out on the  instructions of the authorities, and more specifically on the  instructions of Nikol Pashinyan himself, will be confirmed.

The Union of Journalists of Armenia assesses the attack on the  "Aravot" newspaper as part of the campaign unleashed by the  government against freedom of speech and mass media, calling on all  representatives of media, journalists, regardless of their political  preferences and contradictions, to show professional solidarity and  joint support for one of the oldest Armenian media, contributing to  the disclosure crimes with the same sequence and requirement," the  Union of Journalists of Armenia stressed.