On January 30, in the center of Yerevan, "Zhoghovurd" daily organized a protest against the decision of the Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork-Marash Administrative Districts of Yerevan on putting under arrest the property of the newspaper’s founder, "Editorial Office of ‘Zhoghovurd’ Daily" LLC, and the daily’s correspondent Sona Grigorian. "Zhoghovurd" claimed that the injunction would impede its operation. The participants of the protest action moved along the central streets of Yerevan to the Court, which had granted the injunction.
The injunction was applied as a measure to secure the lawsuit, filed by the businessman Khachik Khachatrian and his company "Yerevan Poultry" versus the founder of "Zhoghovurd" and the correspondent Sona Grigorian. The reason for the suit was the article, "Famous Oligarch Fined for Selling Expired Eggs", published by "Zhoghovurd" on December 11, 2012. On January 10, 2013, the Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork-Marash Administrative Districts of Yerevan submitted the suit. The plaintiffs demand from the respondents a refutation and compensation of damage, caused by libel and insult, in the amount of 3 mln AMD (about $ 7,300). The preliminary court hearings are assigned on March 22.
On January 29, the RA Judicial Department provided the following document on its website, "Explanation: Allegations about Impeding Operation of "Zhoghovurd" Daily Are Unfounded". The explanation particularly stresses that the motion on the injunction made by Khachik Khachatrian and "Yerevan Poultry" was secured partially. The Court had only ruled to put an arrest on the respondents’ property in proportion to the financial claims. Meanwhile, the plaintiffs also petitioned to prohibit any publication by "Zhoghovurd" on the dispute, until a court ruling is made on the case. According to the Judicial Department, the current injunction does not restrict the activities of the daily, and the latter seeks to mislead the public. On the same day, on January 29, "Zhoghovurd" expressed its disagreement with the arguments of the Department and the Court’s decision in its article, "Judicial Department Misleads the Public".
It should be noted that earlier, on December 28, 2012, the Court of General Jurisdiction of Arabkir and Kanaker-Zeytun Administrative Districts of Yerevan submitted a lawsuit, filed by correspondent Sona Grigorian and "Zhoghovurd" daily’s founder versus Khachik Khachatrian. The reason for going into law was the insulting statement made by the businessman about Sona Grigorian. Zhoghovurd informed about this on December 22, 2012. The plaintiffs demanded public apologies from Khachik Khachatrian. The preliminary court hearings are assigned on March 21.
Statements to support “Zhoghovurd” were made by a number of media, NGOs, political and public figures, including the RA Human Rights Defender.
