(RSF/IFEX) – In an 8 September 1999 letter to Justice Minister David Haroutiunian, RSF protested the one-year prison sentence against journalist Nikolai Pashinyan for “defamation”. Not wishing to comment on the content of the incriminating article, RSF pointed out that sentencing a person to a term of imprisonment for a press offence is regarded as […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In an 8 September 1999 letter to Justice Minister David
Haroutiunian,
RSF protested the one-year prison sentence against journalist Nikolai
Pashinyan for “defamation”. Not wishing to comment on the content of the
incriminating article, RSF pointed out that sentencing a person to a term of
imprisonment for a press offence is regarded as out of proportion to the
damage sustained by the victim. Thus, in a 1992 report, the United Nations
High Commission on Human Rights emphasised that “detention, as punishment
for the peaceful expression of an opinion, is one of the most reprehensible
ways to enjoin silence and, as a consequence, a grave violation of human
rights.”
**Updates IFEX alert of 8 September 1999**
According to information received by RSF, on 31 August, Pashinyan,
editor-in-chief of the opposition daily “Oragir”, was sentenced to a
one-year prison term by the Erevan district court for “insulting a
representative of the authorities”, “defamation” and “refusal to publish a
correction”. Since last March, the newspaper had successively criticised the
interior minister, Serge Sarkissian, a university professor close to circles
of power, Norayr Ayvazian, and the wife of prominent politician Artashes
Geghamian, accusing them, respectively, of “occult links” with the “Mika
Armenia” company, “corruption” and “contraband”. In early June, “Oragir” was
sentenced to pay a US$25,000 fine (150,000 francs, 22,867 euros) in damages
and interest to the “Mika Armenia” company, which led to the newspaper’s
temporary closure. The newspaper is publishing anew under the name “Haykakan
Zhamanak” (Armenia’s Hour). At the end of March, the newspaper had already
been found guilty of “defamation” towards Interior Minister Sarkissian.
Linked to the opposition party of former Education Minister Ashot Bleyan
(who is currently in prison awaiting trial on an “embezzlement of funds”
charge), “Oragir” is known for its critical stance towards the current
government.
