STATEMENT
regarding the obstruction of journalist Vahe Makaryan’s professional activities in the the RA National Assembly
On June 13, 2025, the professional activities of Mediahub.am correspondent Vahe Makaryan were hindered in the National Assembly. It is worth recalling that on November 4, 2024, his accreditation in the parliament was withdrawn on highly controversial grounds. This decision followed a confrontation between Vahe Makaryan and NA Speaker Alen Simonyan, which was accompanied by mutual accusations and insults. The situation was addressed in our Statement issued on November 5, 2024.
Although stripped of his accreditation, Vahe Makaryan obtained a one-time entry pass issued by Gegham Manukyan, a member of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Defense and Security, and entered the parliament to cover the Committee’s session. The Law “On Mass Communication” does not prohibit journalists who lack accreditation from receiving a pass from any deputy and reporting on the activities of that state body for that particular day. In addition, as outlined in Article 4 (3.2) of the same law, “any coercive act against media workers and journalists aimed at or leading to the dissemination of any information or the refusal to do so” is prohibited.
Contrary to these regulations, officers from the security service, citing instructions from the NA Chief of Staff, asked Vahe Makaryan to leave the Committee session, without providing any reasonable justification. They demanded that Makaryan exit the NA building, and when the journalist resisted, they forcibly removed him from the premises.
We, the undersigned journalistic organizations, note once again that the tense relations between deputies and journalists in the National Assembly often escalate into conflicts, as a result of which only media representatives are held accountable, while deputies involved in these incidents face no consequences. Moreover, even the process of forming a parliamentary ethics committee regarding such conflicts is deliberately derailed. It remains deeply problematic that the NA Staff continues to instruct State Protection Service officers to use force against journalists without proper justification, with such actions turning into obstructions to the legitimate professional activities of the media.
Condemning the above-mentioned incident, we demand from the NA leadership and staff:
• to refrain from treating accreditation as the only basis and opportunity for journalists to enter the National Assembly and cover any topic related to its activities, but also recognize their right to use one-time entry passes;
• to hold urgent hearings to discuss deputy-journalist relations within the parliament and overcome the existing tension;
• to activate the process of establishing a parliamentary ethics committee related to these incidents and implement relevant legislative amendments to create such a permanent body.
COMMITTEE TO PROTECT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
YEREVAN PRESS CLUB
MEDIA INITIATIVES CENTER
MEDIA DIVERSITY INSTITUTE-ARMENIA
PUBLIC JOURNALISM CLUB
“JOURNALISTS FOR THE FUTURE” NGO
“JOURNALISTS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS” NGO
GORIS PRESS CLUB
