RSF condemns deliberate police attacks on journalists during demonstrations

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the deliberate police attacks on journalists in Armenia. As the organization noted, during the demonstrations led by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the police attacked several journalists, including the representatives of ABC media, Mediahub, Oragir News; one was knocked to the ground, the other was hit, another was even hit by a police car.

RSF calls on the Armenian authorities to end the deliberate police violence and conduct transparent and independent investigations into the said police attacks. Jeanne Cavelier, the head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, noted: “With the historic conflict with Azerbaijan as a backdrop, the way the police are handling the protests is increasing the dangers for the reporters covering them. As well as sometimes targeted by the police, journalists are also often attacked in the street and by politicians who are supposed to guarantee press freedom. We call on the Armenian authorities to end this violence at once and to combat impunity by carrying out independent and transparent investigations into the attacks that have taken place.”

Ranked 43rd out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2024 World Press Freedom Index, Armenia is currently experiencing an unprecedented level of disinformation and hate-mongering, above all in connection with the constant threat of war with neighboring Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.