Court ruling against Haykakan Zhamanak is against every media outlet in Armenia - NGO

The court ruling against the Armenian daily Haykakan Zhamanak is one against every Armenian free media outlet, the head of an NGO has said in a statement released on Wednesday.

"The court … once again proves that courts in Armenia are simply a tool at the hands of the authorities, and the authorities are trying to silence the free print media," Vardan Harutyunyan, the head of the Centre of Law and Freedom NGO said in the statement.

Earlier on Monday, the Court of First Instance in Yerevan's Kentron and Nork-Marash administrative districts made a ruling against Haykakan Zhamanak over a lawsuit filed by three Armenian MPs and imposed a fine worth more than 6 million Armenian drams (about $16,500) for an article published by the daily.

The court ruled that the article has "compromised the reputation" of MPs Ruben Hayrapetyan, the President of Armenia's Football Federation, Samvel Alexanyan, said to be the owner of AlexGrig, LLC, an importer which was included in the top ten of Armenia's taxpayers' list last year, and Levon Sargsyan, and ruled that each be paid 2,44m drams in moral compensation.

Vardan Harutyunyan further said that the daily simply published information with attribution to a source that has on several occasions made public statements over his readiness to come up with clarifications about his comments.

But the court, which, according to Harutyunyan, was tasked with punishing the daily for its oppositionist stance, reached what it called the "demanded ruling".

"Given its nature, the authorities of RA [Republic of Armenia] cannot tolerate free speech and have spared no efforts and will be doing so to pressurize it," said Harutyunyan.

The statement further called on all NGOs, human rights organizations in Armenia to voice their concerns about Haykakan Zhamanak, and in that way defend the right of having freedom of speech and free media in the country.

Former Chief-Editor of Haykakan Zhamanak daily, Nikol Pashinyan, is currently jailed and is serving his sentence, after he was charged with organization of mass disorder during the political unrest that followed the disputed presidential elections in 2008.