Article 19 urges Armenian authorities to provide safety for journalists

Article 19, an international non-governmental organization, calls upon the Armenian authorities to respect international norms on freedom of speech, to conduct immediate and thorough investigation into the attacks on journalists, and to take all necessary measures to provide journalists' safety in future. In its statement, the organization raises concern about the violence used against journalists during the meetings on April 5, 9-10, and 12-13. "Using violence against journalists who perform their professional duties, Armenia openly breaks Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights," reads the statement. By these documents, everybody has the right to freedom of expression, which includes freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas, regardless of frontiers and without interference on the part of state bodies. Article 19 notes that the facts of attacks on journalists as attempts to prevent them from covering the meetings have been also registered by such international organizations as the World Association of Newspapers, the OSCE Office in Yerevan, and the Committee to Protect Journalists.