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ARMENIAN JOURNALISTS TOLD TO REVEAL SOURCES
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #747
Aug 8 2014
Fears of attack on media freedoms after court rules information is
needed to help solve serious crime.
By Yekaterina Poghosyan - Caucasus
Armenian journalists fear that a dangerous precedent has been set by
a court ruling that two publications must reveal the sources behind
stories in which a regional police chief was accused of assault.
In May, the ilur.am web site and the Hraparak newspaper reported that
Vardan Nadaryan, chief of police in the Shirak region, attacked two
young men in an incident outside the regional capital Gyumri.
The men he allegedly assaulted turned out to be Olympic bronze
medallist wrestler Artur Alexanyan and his brother Rafael.
On June 26, a Yerevan court ruled that the newspaper had to satisfy
a request from the Special Investigative Service (SIS) to reveal the
source of the information, as part of a probe into whether Nadaryan
had abused his powers. The SIS said it had found no evidence that the
clash had actually taken place, and thus wanted the information held
by the media outlets.
Susan Simonyan, the Hraparak article's author, told IWPR that her
editors refused to reveal the information when the SIS first asked
for it, arguing they had a legal right to withhold sources.
The SIS cited another section of the law, however, which states that
a court can force journalists to reveal their sources if they relate
to particularly serious crimes.
"We did not even know a criminal case had been opened until we heard
about the decision obliging us to reveal our source. By rights,
we should have been informed that a criminal case had been opened,
and been invited to the court hearings," Simonyan said.
Judges have never used this section of the country's media law before,
and journalists are worried their decision to invoke it could set
a precedent.
"The residents of Gyumri are scared to talk about fights or other
such incidents, if high-ranking officials or policemen are involved....
And now we are being told to reveal the name of the person that gave
us this information. If I do that, no one will trust me," Simonyan
continued.
Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE's representative for press freedom issues,
also said the court ruling was a worrying sign.
"I am concerned that this ruling might have a chilling effect on media
as it could thwart reporting on issues of public interest," she said
in a statement. "The need for journalists' professional confidentiality
with public and private sources of information must be acknowledged."
Suren Deheryan, head of Journalists for the Future, a press freedom
organisation in Armenia, said the decision would create further
obstacles for the media.
"Journalists believe that this decision was taken to create an
atmosphere of fear and to put pressure not so much on journalists as
on the sources that give them information. This is dangerous and could
have a negative influence on the whole media environment," he told
IWPR, adding that people are already reluctant to give journalists
information and often refuse to have their names included in articles.
Hraparak and ilur.am intend to appeal against the court decision,
and Simonyan said they would keep fighting for as long as possible.
"I promised my source to keep his name secret. Whatever verdict the
appeal court returns, we will fight to the end and we do not intend to
reveal the source of our information," she said. "The decision... is
a serious obstacle for journalists and an attempt to intimidate the
press. It also reduces the faith both readers and sources have in
the media."
Anna Israelyan, editor of the online news portal aravot.am warned
that the case would harm Armenia's international image and said the
government needed to take steps to make sure such rulings did not
become standard practice.
"This is the first time a court has forced the media to reveal a
source of information," she told IWPR. "It's very important to amend
the laws to create a strict mechanism within which journalists can
be forced to reveal their sources, and which would also regulate the
process by which these cases are brought."
Yekaterina Poghosyan is a reporter with Mediamax.am in Armenia.
http://iwpr.net/report-news/armenian-journalists-told-reveal-sources
From: Baghdasarian
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #747
Aug 8 2014
Fears of attack on media freedoms after court rules information is
needed to help solve serious crime.
By Yekaterina Poghosyan - Caucasus
Armenian journalists fear that a dangerous precedent has been set by
a court ruling that two publications must reveal the sources behind
stories in which a regional police chief was accused of assault.
In May, the ilur.am web site and the Hraparak newspaper reported that
Vardan Nadaryan, chief of police in the Shirak region, attacked two
young men in an incident outside the regional capital Gyumri.
The men he allegedly assaulted turned out to be Olympic bronze
medallist wrestler Artur Alexanyan and his brother Rafael.
On June 26, a Yerevan court ruled that the newspaper had to satisfy
a request from the Special Investigative Service (SIS) to reveal the
source of the information, as part of a probe into whether Nadaryan
had abused his powers. The SIS said it had found no evidence that the
clash had actually taken place, and thus wanted the information held
by the media outlets.
Susan Simonyan, the Hraparak article's author, told IWPR that her
editors refused to reveal the information when the SIS first asked
for it, arguing they had a legal right to withhold sources.
The SIS cited another section of the law, however, which states that
a court can force journalists to reveal their sources if they relate
to particularly serious crimes.
"We did not even know a criminal case had been opened until we heard
about the decision obliging us to reveal our source. By rights,
we should have been informed that a criminal case had been opened,
and been invited to the court hearings," Simonyan said.
Judges have never used this section of the country's media law before,
and journalists are worried their decision to invoke it could set
a precedent.
"The residents of Gyumri are scared to talk about fights or other
such incidents, if high-ranking officials or policemen are involved....
And now we are being told to reveal the name of the person that gave
us this information. If I do that, no one will trust me," Simonyan
continued.
Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE's representative for press freedom issues,
also said the court ruling was a worrying sign.
"I am concerned that this ruling might have a chilling effect on media
as it could thwart reporting on issues of public interest," she said
in a statement. "The need for journalists' professional confidentiality
with public and private sources of information must be acknowledged."
Suren Deheryan, head of Journalists for the Future, a press freedom
organisation in Armenia, said the decision would create further
obstacles for the media.
"Journalists believe that this decision was taken to create an
atmosphere of fear and to put pressure not so much on journalists as
on the sources that give them information. This is dangerous and could
have a negative influence on the whole media environment," he told
IWPR, adding that people are already reluctant to give journalists
information and often refuse to have their names included in articles.
Hraparak and ilur.am intend to appeal against the court decision,
and Simonyan said they would keep fighting for as long as possible.
"I promised my source to keep his name secret. Whatever verdict the
appeal court returns, we will fight to the end and we do not intend to
reveal the source of our information," she said. "The decision... is
a serious obstacle for journalists and an attempt to intimidate the
press. It also reduces the faith both readers and sources have in
the media."
Anna Israelyan, editor of the online news portal aravot.am warned
that the case would harm Armenia's international image and said the
government needed to take steps to make sure such rulings did not
become standard practice.
"This is the first time a court has forced the media to reveal a
source of information," she told IWPR. "It's very important to amend
the laws to create a strict mechanism within which journalists can
be forced to reveal their sources, and which would also regulate the
process by which these cases are brought."
Yekaterina Poghosyan is a reporter with Mediamax.am in Armenia.
http://iwpr.net/report-news/armenian-journalists-told-reveal-sources
From: Baghdasarian