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2014 tense year for Armenian media - report

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  • 2014 tense year for Armenian media - report

    2014 tense year for Armenian media - report

    17:33 * 30.01.15


    2014 was a year of pressures and challenges for the Armenian media and
    also a period of financial challenges, the Committee to Protect
    Freedom of Expression has found.

    Summing up the organization's 2014 report, its president, Ashot
    Melikyan, said Friday that most of the media outlets faced restriction
    on freedom, with most threats coming from government institutions.

    "They had to resist challenges and many threats, and attempts to
    restrict their rights and freedom of expression in general," he told
    reporters.

    Melikyan particularly cited the amended Civil Code which criminalized
    reference to fake social media posts containing libelous or defamatory
    remarks.

    Nine media organizations, including the Committee, earlier condemned
    the measure eventually causing the National Assembly to decide on
    delaying its implementation for an indefinite period.

    A report by the Prosecutor General's Office, calling for criminal
    liability against anyone publishing inquest data without its
    permission, is also considered dangerous for the media.

    The violations of rights against the media and journalists have
    decreased respectively to 65 and 77 cases in 2014, the report found.

    But the pressures increased in number: in the first two quarters
    alone, 29 cases were reported. Another 14 cases were registered in the
    following six months/.

    "The economic conditions for the media cannot be considered favorable
    insofar as the Committee's evaluations suggest. Financial difficulties
    have become a chronic disease for the vast majority of outlets. A
    number of newspapers had to raise their sales prices at the beginning
    of the year," reads the document.

    It cites the 2013 and 2014 hike in the electric power prices and the
    late-2014 currency devaluation as extra burden for most of the
    outlets.

    The wire radio network was also suspended despite its one-time wide
    popularity. The Television and Radio Broadcasting Network cited the
    network's non=profitability as a reason for such a decision.


    http://www.tert.am/en/news/2015/01/30/Protect-Freedom-of-Speech/1574413

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