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IN ARMENIA SUITORS AGAINST MASS MEDIA NO LONGER DEMAND ASTRONOMIC SUMS OF MONEY FOR "MORAL DAMAGE"
arminfo
Wednesday, April 11, 15:56
Priority of Law human rights defender NGO has monitored 44 trials
against Mass Media in the country. The lawyers of the NGO Ara Ghazaryan
and Artak Zeynalyan told media on Wednesday that the monitoring was
conducted in the period from Jan 2010 up to Jan 2012.
They said that most of the suitors against Mass Media were privates
and non-governmental establishments, while civil servants, state
establishments and political figures proved on the second, third and
fourth positions, respectively.
Ghazaryan said that the number of suits against Mass Media initiated
by statesmen and state bodies has grown over the last years. In most
cases, the suitors complain of "insults and slander." Out of 44 suits,
33 were against newspapers and magazines (75%), 12 against news portals
(28%) and the remaining 5 were against television (12%).
Experts say that suitors often demanded financial compensation for
moral damage in the amount of 2-4 million drams. Total moral damage
caused by Mass Media amounted to 102 million 266 thousand drams,
with only 11 million 466 thousand drams being recompensed.
Nevertheless, experts say that despite numerous trials against Mass
Media, the situation has been improving over the last months. The
parties began to more and more frequently agree with each other. In
addition, suitors no longer demand astronomic sums of money.
To recall, trials against Mass Media became especially frequent after
the parliament passed amendments to the Civil Code initiated by the
human rights defender of Armenia Karen Andreasyan. The amendments
provide for decriminalization of defamation. In fact, over 15 suits
were lodged against the local newspaper Hraparak, Aravot, Iravunk,
Yerkir, Haykakan Zhamanak and some portals and quite big amounts of
money were demanded as compensation. Among the suitors were the family
of the ex-president Robert Kocharyan, oligarch-parliamentarians Samvel
Aleksanyan, Levon Sargsyan, Ruben Hayrapetyan and Tigran Arzakantsyan.
Experts and journalists say that in conditions of the corrupt judicial
system, the given law may restrict freedom of speech in Armenia,
and high fines may make Mass Media bankrupt.
From: A. Papazian
arminfo
Wednesday, April 11, 15:56
Priority of Law human rights defender NGO has monitored 44 trials
against Mass Media in the country. The lawyers of the NGO Ara Ghazaryan
and Artak Zeynalyan told media on Wednesday that the monitoring was
conducted in the period from Jan 2010 up to Jan 2012.
They said that most of the suitors against Mass Media were privates
and non-governmental establishments, while civil servants, state
establishments and political figures proved on the second, third and
fourth positions, respectively.
Ghazaryan said that the number of suits against Mass Media initiated
by statesmen and state bodies has grown over the last years. In most
cases, the suitors complain of "insults and slander." Out of 44 suits,
33 were against newspapers and magazines (75%), 12 against news portals
(28%) and the remaining 5 were against television (12%).
Experts say that suitors often demanded financial compensation for
moral damage in the amount of 2-4 million drams. Total moral damage
caused by Mass Media amounted to 102 million 266 thousand drams,
with only 11 million 466 thousand drams being recompensed.
Nevertheless, experts say that despite numerous trials against Mass
Media, the situation has been improving over the last months. The
parties began to more and more frequently agree with each other. In
addition, suitors no longer demand astronomic sums of money.
To recall, trials against Mass Media became especially frequent after
the parliament passed amendments to the Civil Code initiated by the
human rights defender of Armenia Karen Andreasyan. The amendments
provide for decriminalization of defamation. In fact, over 15 suits
were lodged against the local newspaper Hraparak, Aravot, Iravunk,
Yerkir, Haykakan Zhamanak and some portals and quite big amounts of
money were demanded as compensation. Among the suitors were the family
of the ex-president Robert Kocharyan, oligarch-parliamentarians Samvel
Aleksanyan, Levon Sargsyan, Ruben Hayrapetyan and Tigran Arzakantsyan.
Experts and journalists say that in conditions of the corrupt judicial
system, the given law may restrict freedom of speech in Armenia,
and high fines may make Mass Media bankrupt.
From: A. Papazian