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Reporters Without Borders, France
May 1 2011
Armenian newspapers threatened by libel suits with sky-high damages awards
Published on Sunday 1 May 2011.
Reporters Without Borders is concerned about all the libel actions
being brought against Armenian newspapers and the disproportionate
damages being demanded, which threaten their survival and create a
climate that encourages self-censorship. This tendency to use lawsuits
to throttle news media must be reined in.
The repeal of jail sentences for libel and slander in April 2010 was
hailed as a democratic advance but judicial harassment of the media
continues. There were 12 defamation actions during the first quarter
of 2011 alone. Independent newspapers are the leading targets. The
daily Jamanak is currently the subject of three different lawsuits.
Haykakan Jamanak and Hraparak are also being sued.
In most cases the plaintiffs are politicians. On 18 April, Armenia's
highest appeal court ordered the news website Hetq, founded by the NGO
Investigative Journalists, to pay Ijevan mayor Tavush Marz 450,000
drams (820 euros) in damages and publish a retraction. The suit was
brought over a series of articles about embezzlement by local
officials. Having exhausted all possibilities of appeal in Armenia,
the NGO says it will take the case to the European Court of Human
Rights.
Former president Robert Kocharian's family are frequent plaintiffs.
His wife, Bella Kocharian, and son, Sedrak Kocharian, are suing
Jamanak for 6 million drams (11,000 euros) over a September 2011
article implicating them in an alleged case of embezzlement. The
newspaper Haykakan Jamanak has already been ordered to pay Levon
Kocharian 3.5 million drams (6,400 euros) in damages.
The former president himself recently sued Hraparak over a 2 February
article describing him as `bloodthirsty' and subject to `fits of
madness.' While there may have been grounds for a libel action, there
were certainly no grounds for his request for a freeze on the
newspaper's assets, which was granted at the first hearing.
The order was rescinded on 11 April, but the former president's action
is still dangerous inasmuch as it suggest that the real of goal of
defamation suits is to bankrupt independent media. The OSCE, to which
Armenia belongs, has a clear position on this: `The amount of the fine
should not reach the ceiling of bankruptcy of the media outlets or
individual journalists, nor should it endanger their normal work.'
In most cases, the courts seem to do what the plaintiffs want,
imposing the maximum amount of damages. On 7 February, Haykakan
Jamanak was ordered to pay 2,440,000 drams (nearly 16,000 dollars) in
damages to each of the three parliamentarians - Ruben Hayrapetyan,
Samuel Aleksanyan and Levon Sargsyan - who sued it over a 14 October
article quoting a list of Armenian officials and businessmen allegedly
involved in criminal activity. Editor Hayk Gevorgyan said he was
amazed by the court's verdict and has decided to appeal.
As well as the large amounts in damages demanded by plaintiffs,
newspapers must also pay excessive lawyers' fees. The abuses are such
that the council of the Armenian Chamber of Lawyers has approved a
proposed directive imposing a ceiling of 300,000 drams (6,400 euros)
on fees in defamation cases. It has been submitted to the legal
department, which will decide whether it should go into effect.
Reporters Without Borders is following all of these cases closely. As
well as those already mentioned, Reporters Without Borders will also
attend the upcoming hearings in the parliamentarian Tigran
Arzakantsian's lawsuit against the newspaper Yerkir and the lawsuit
that the company Glendale Hills has brought against Jamanak.
Reporters Without Borders has urged participants in the forum on media
freedom held by the human rights ombudsman in Yerevan to discuss ways
to limit defamation suits. Media self-regulation should be developed
and, when legal actions are brought, the courts should respect the
principle of proportionality when awarding damages.
http://en.rsf.org/armenie-armenian-newspapers-threatened-by-01-05-2011,40201.html
From: A. Papazian
May 1 2011
Armenian newspapers threatened by libel suits with sky-high damages awards
Published on Sunday 1 May 2011.
Reporters Without Borders is concerned about all the libel actions
being brought against Armenian newspapers and the disproportionate
damages being demanded, which threaten their survival and create a
climate that encourages self-censorship. This tendency to use lawsuits
to throttle news media must be reined in.
The repeal of jail sentences for libel and slander in April 2010 was
hailed as a democratic advance but judicial harassment of the media
continues. There were 12 defamation actions during the first quarter
of 2011 alone. Independent newspapers are the leading targets. The
daily Jamanak is currently the subject of three different lawsuits.
Haykakan Jamanak and Hraparak are also being sued.
In most cases the plaintiffs are politicians. On 18 April, Armenia's
highest appeal court ordered the news website Hetq, founded by the NGO
Investigative Journalists, to pay Ijevan mayor Tavush Marz 450,000
drams (820 euros) in damages and publish a retraction. The suit was
brought over a series of articles about embezzlement by local
officials. Having exhausted all possibilities of appeal in Armenia,
the NGO says it will take the case to the European Court of Human
Rights.
Former president Robert Kocharian's family are frequent plaintiffs.
His wife, Bella Kocharian, and son, Sedrak Kocharian, are suing
Jamanak for 6 million drams (11,000 euros) over a September 2011
article implicating them in an alleged case of embezzlement. The
newspaper Haykakan Jamanak has already been ordered to pay Levon
Kocharian 3.5 million drams (6,400 euros) in damages.
The former president himself recently sued Hraparak over a 2 February
article describing him as `bloodthirsty' and subject to `fits of
madness.' While there may have been grounds for a libel action, there
were certainly no grounds for his request for a freeze on the
newspaper's assets, which was granted at the first hearing.
The order was rescinded on 11 April, but the former president's action
is still dangerous inasmuch as it suggest that the real of goal of
defamation suits is to bankrupt independent media. The OSCE, to which
Armenia belongs, has a clear position on this: `The amount of the fine
should not reach the ceiling of bankruptcy of the media outlets or
individual journalists, nor should it endanger their normal work.'
In most cases, the courts seem to do what the plaintiffs want,
imposing the maximum amount of damages. On 7 February, Haykakan
Jamanak was ordered to pay 2,440,000 drams (nearly 16,000 dollars) in
damages to each of the three parliamentarians - Ruben Hayrapetyan,
Samuel Aleksanyan and Levon Sargsyan - who sued it over a 14 October
article quoting a list of Armenian officials and businessmen allegedly
involved in criminal activity. Editor Hayk Gevorgyan said he was
amazed by the court's verdict and has decided to appeal.
As well as the large amounts in damages demanded by plaintiffs,
newspapers must also pay excessive lawyers' fees. The abuses are such
that the council of the Armenian Chamber of Lawyers has approved a
proposed directive imposing a ceiling of 300,000 drams (6,400 euros)
on fees in defamation cases. It has been submitted to the legal
department, which will decide whether it should go into effect.
Reporters Without Borders is following all of these cases closely. As
well as those already mentioned, Reporters Without Borders will also
attend the upcoming hearings in the parliamentarian Tigran
Arzakantsian's lawsuit against the newspaper Yerkir and the lawsuit
that the company Glendale Hills has brought against Jamanak.
Reporters Without Borders has urged participants in the forum on media
freedom held by the human rights ombudsman in Yerevan to discuss ways
to limit defamation suits. Media self-regulation should be developed
and, when legal actions are brought, the courts should respect the
principle of proportionality when awarding damages.
http://en.rsf.org/armenie-armenian-newspapers-threatened-by-01-05-2011,40201.html
From: A. Papazian