On April 17 the heads of “Aravot”, “Zhamanak-Yerevan”, “Haikakan Zhamanak”,
“Hayk”, “Taregir”, “Hraparak”, “Chorrord Ishkhanutiun” newspapers, “A1+” TV
company, Lragir.am online publication, “Investigative Journalists” NGO released
an open letter to the RA General Prosecutor Aghvan Hovsepian, urging to stop
the prosecution of the Chief Editor of “Haikakan Zhamanak” daily Nikol Pashinian.
As it has been reported, under the criminal proceedings instituted on the civil
unrest on March 1, 2008 in Yerevan, the RA Police announced several people wanted,
including Nikol Pashinian, charged with Article 316 of the RA Criminal Code
(“Violence against a representative of power”).
“The criminal proceedings against the Chief Editor of ‘Haikakan Zhamanak’ daily
Nikol Pashinian have an obvious political slant, and we qualify it as a grave
human rights violation, an undisclosed pressure on free expression. This confidence
is due to the fact that the charges introduced are disproportionate to his activities”,
the authors of the letter announced. Expressing their concern with the fate
of the colleague who has to hide the signatories demanded to stop the unjustified
persecution of Nikol Pashinian and allow him to return to his family, professional
and political activities.
The statement was subsequently joined by “168 Zham”, “Capital”, “90 rope” newspapers,
Tert.am online publication, “GALA” TV company of Gyumri.
