On January 9, 2013, the Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork-Marash Administrative Districts of Yerevan started hearing the suit of former convict Razmik Abrahamian (sentenced for sexual assault against minors) versus the founders of “Aravot” (“Aravot Oratert” LLC) and “Haykakan Zhamanak” (“Dareskizb” LLC) dailies. The reason for bringing the legal action were the articles, published by “Aravot” on September 26, 2003 and “Haykakan Zhamanak” on September 5, 2003. According to Razmik Abrahamian, the articles described him negatively, while presenting the court trial on his case. The plaintiff demands 2 mln AMD (about $ 5,000) as moral damage compensation for libel and insult from each of the respondents. On November 5, 2012, the Court took the lawsuit into consideration, even though the contested articles were published 9 years ago. The Court proceeded from the fact that in his suit, Razmik Abrahamian had indicated that he was in prison for all these years and had no opportunity to challenge the materials at court.
At the session of January 9, 2013, the respondents made a motion to close the case due to the expiration of time limits for filling a defamation suit. The next court session is assigned on February 25.
