On September 23 in the vicinity of one of the markets of Yerevan correspondent
of “Haikakan Zhamanak” daily Arman Galoyan was assaulted. On the same day in
accordance with the municipal decree the demolition of the trade stalls around
the market started. Its owners, considering the action to be illegitimate, notified
the editorial office of the newspaper about it.
Having arrived on site the correspondent of “Haikakan Zhamanak” was recording
the stories told by the trade stall owners, when he was approached by a group
of men who demanded him to stop the work and leave the territory. Arman Galoyan
did not obey. Some time later, a man, as the journalist thinks, one of the market
employees, swearing attacked him and took the recorder away. The correspondent
of “Haikakan Zhamanak” continued to make notes in his notepad and then he was
attacked by another man, in the opinion of Galoyan, also of market staff, took
away his notepad, tore out the pages with notes and shred them into pieces.
With regard to the occurrence an appropriate application was filed with the
Center Division of the RA Police and the incident was covered by “Haikakan Zhamanak”
the next day, on September 24. The participants of the incident were brought
to the police division and interrogated. The Center Division of the RA Police
instituted criminal proceedings for part 1 Article 164 of the RA Criminal Code
(“Obstruction of the legitimate professional activities of journalist”). The
recorder owned by Arman Galoyan is now in police as evidence.
