On July 22 RA
Human Rights Defender Armen Harutiunian addressed a letter to RA
National Assembly Chairman Hovik Abrahamian referring to the draft law
“On Introducing Amendment and Supplements to the RA Law ‘On Mass
Communication’ ”. The draft law was suggested by RA NA deputy Victor
Dallakian and submitted to the National Assembly on July 6, 2009. The
author of the draft proposes, in particular, to supplement the Law with
provisions determining the rights and obligations of journalists.
By
mentioning that the suggested amendments “caused a critic reaction by a
number of media organizations”, Armen Harutiunian stressed that the
main provisions of the draft contravene the Article 10 of the European
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,
assuring the freedom of expression, as well as the case law of the
European Court of Human Rights. In the letter to the parliament speaker
the Human Rights Defender overall considers the draft law to be
“unacceptable and indigent to improvement”.
