Lawyer Sos Hakobyan informs that he has undertaken the protection of the interests of mediahub.am journalist Vahe Makaryan.
"I inform you that I have undertaken the protection of the interests of Mediahub.am journalist Vahe Makaryan, between him and, according to his words, the great master of provoking conflicts, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Alen Simonyan, on 30.10.2024. Issues related to the dispute that took place inside the building of the National Assembly, as a result of the decision to suspend the accreditation of Vahe Makaryan by the decision of the head of the staff of the National Assembly.
We find that the decision to suspend the accreditation of Vahe Makaryan was made in gross violation of the law and should be abolished. The legal principles of special equality and the realization of the right to be heard have not even been respected in any proceedings. It is important to recognize this decision as illegal in the sense that the vicious practice of suspending the accreditation of journalists who have not received the favor of the authorities at a particular moment receives a legal assessment, considering it as a fundamental principle of freedom of speech and freedom of information. pressure test.
I would like to inform you that yesterday I applied to the head of the staff of the RA National Assembly with a request to receive the video recordings of the cameras that recorded the details of the incident, and if this is impossible, to preserve those video recordings for at least one year for legal proceedings.
Dear journalists, I find that the issue does not exclusively refer to the protection of journalist Vahe Makaryan's right to carry out his professional activities. Illegal cases like this have happened in the past as well (for example, the cases related to Suzy Badoyan, Knar Manukyan, etc.), and most likely will not end with this incident. Therefore, I ask all of you to cover this legal process as actively as possible to practically ensure the rights of journalists who have the right to access public information. in the light of protection".
