On February 23, at about 17:00 during the vote recount at the polling station
5/21 of Davidashen community of Yerevan an incident involving journalists occurred.
According to free-lance journalist Gagik Shamshian, the media representatives
were first disallowed to enter the room where the recount was being made, but
by the end of the working day they managed to get in. In the room, apart from
members of Central Election Commission, there were police officers, several
deputies of the RA National Assembly, including a member of Republican Party
faction Levon Sargsian with about a dozen of bodyguards. When Gagik Shamshian
started taking pictures, Levon Sargsian threw a plastic bottle at him, after
which the bodyguards attacked the journalists. According to Shamshian, bodyguards
were pouring swearing and threats, pushed out of the room him and other journalists
– the correspondent of
”Aravot” daily Naira Mamikonian, the correspondent of Panorama.am news portal
Artur Khemchian and the correspondent of “Chorrord Ishkhanutiun” newspaper Taguhi
Tovmasian. During the attack the camera of Gagik Shamshian was broken. Also
the video camera of “A1+” cameraman Sevak Grigorian was damaged, his videotape
with the recording was snatched away.
