"Zhoghovurd" daily writes: "Zhoghovurd" daily reported in 2024 about the scandalous incident that happened in the National Assembly, when during the question-and-answer session with the Government, journalists were forcibly removed from the lodge of the NA session hall. In that case, criminal proceedings were initiated under the features of Article 237, Part 2 of the RA Criminal Code, regarding the apparent case of obstructing the legal professional activity of a journalist.
The basis of the program was also the application of Daniel Ioannisyan, coordinator of the "Union of Informed Citizens" NGO, where it was recorded that journalists were deprived of the opportunity to perform their professional duties during the NA session held in an open procedure. However, the journalists of the "Zhoghovurd" daily newspaper not only witnessed all that, but also documented that the order to take the journalists out of the lodge was given by the head of the NA staff, CP member Davit Arakelyan, who also personally supervised the process in the corridor of the lodge. After the incident, a number of journalists were invited to the Investigative Committee and questioned as witnesses. "Zhoghovurd" journalist Knar Manukyan, "Number 5" TV reporter Karine Mangasaryan, "24News" journalist Hermine Mikayelyan and News.am journalist Ruzan Khachatryan gave testimonies. They presented what they saw and heard.
"Zhoghovurd" daily turned to RA Investigative Committee again yesterday, inquiring at what stage this criminal proceeding is at. In response, the Investigative Committee said only that "the criminal proceedings are ongoing." Today, the situation has already changed. Davit Arakelyan, who is at the bottom of the CP electoral list, is on vacation and will no longer hold the position of the head of the NA staff from August 2. However, the criminal proceedings initiated with his participation continue to be in the same "under investigation" status.
Here, a question is already being asked to Artur Poghosyan, the chairman of the RA Investigative Committee. What is being investigated for almost two years in a case, the key circumstances of which took place during the open session, live, were videotaped, and the journalists gave detailed testimonies? If such a case does not reach a legal conclusion even after two years, then it is no longer a question of the complexity of the investigation, but of the effectiveness of the investigative body's work.
As a result of this way of working of the Investigative Committee led by Artur Poghosyan, the violated rights of journalists continue to remain without effective protection.
And when criminal proceedings for obstruction of a journalist's professional activity remain unfinished for years, it is a dangerous impulse for all those who believe that the rights of journalists can be violated without real legal consequences. This is a clear manifestation of the constraint of the investigative body. when it comes to Alen Simonyan's teammate, CP-Akan, the cases regarding them have been gathering dust on the shelves for years."
Details in today's issue of "Zhoghovurd" daily.
