On February 19 on the day of the elections of RA President numerous violations
of rights of journalists covering the voting process were recorded.
Thus, at polling station 122 in Yerevan unknown individuals attacked the representative
of "Shant" TV company, taking away the camera and the videotape, where
the drop of several ballots by one person was filmed.
At the same station the correspondent of "Ayzhm" newspaper Gohar
Veziryan was assaulted, who, having found filled in ballots, informed about
it the proxy of RA presidency candidate Stepan Demirchian. During the attempted
clarification the journalist was attacked by unknown individuals who took away
her recorder.
At polling station 0356/16 a member of the electoral commission took the photo
camera of free lance journalist Susanna Poghosian who was accompanying the correspondent
of British "Economist" magazine Gedeon Lichfield.
Numerous obstacles were encountered by the representatives of "A1+"
TV company in the course of their work. The journalists were ousted from a number
of polling stations, often by force, their cameras were taken. The bans to make
shootings were mostly explained by the fact that "A1+" has no broadcast
license.
On February 20 the President of "A1+" TV company Mesrop Movsesian
appealed to the Chairman of the RA Central Electoral Commission Artak Sagradian.
The letter said in particular that with the exception of one polling station
the "A1+" journalists were everywhere prohibited to shoot the vote
count. As the address noted, "the chairmen of the commissions motivated
these by some instructions of the CEC Chairman or did not even conceal this
was their own initiative".
