“As a former editor-in chief and journalist, I know full well, from my own experience, the importance of being able to function without interference from the state,” Pashinian told on Thursday a media-related event held as part of the U.S.-led Summit for Democracy.
In a video address, he said that his government has put in place “all the mechanisms for developing free press as an essential part of true democracy.”
“Armenia is continuously implementing reforms aimed at improving its legislation for ensuring better environment for media and journalists to perform their professional duties safely and freely,” added Pashinian.
Ashot Melikian of the Yerevan-based Committee to Protect the Freedom of Speech countered that in 2021 Pashinian’s administration tripled maximum legal fines for “slander,” made it a crime to gravely insult state officials and imposed unprecedented restrictions on journalists’ freedom of movement inside the Armenian parliament building.
More than 50 Armenians were prosecuted for defamation and hundreds of others investigated on the same grounds before the authorities decriminalized such offenses under domestic and foreign pressure last year. Many of those criminal cases stemmed from offensive comments on Pashinian made on social media or in public speeches.
Melikian also said that government, law-enforcement and judicial bodies remain reluctant to provide important information to the media.
“It is not accessible,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “Often times media outlets do not receive information sought by them even after filing numerous requests.”
Aram Abrahamian, the veteran editor of the independent Aravot daily, noted in this regard that a government bill recently approved by the parliament should make it even easier for the authorities to withhold such data from the public.
Abrahamian believes that only the methods of government pressure on the media have changed since the 2018 “velvet revolution” that brought Pashinian to power.
“The methods have become somewhat more subtle and less crude,” he said. “And I prefer these methods. Unlike the former authorities that could simply have journalists beaten up, [the current authorities] just say, ‘You’ve bought a particular home.’”
Abrahamian referred to Pashinian’s recent reaction to growing media reports about personal enrichment of members of his political entourage. The prime minister suggested that journalists investigate instead properties bought by their bosses.
Earlier this month, hackers hijacked Aravot’s YouTube channel just as it was about to publish a video report detailing expensive property acquisitions by several senior government officials and pro-government lawmakers. Abrahamian did not rule out government involvement in the cyber attack.
Another major newspaper, Hraparak, blasted Pashinian’s “completely false” claim that his government “didn’t put any restrictions on media freedom and the Internet” even during martial law declared right after the outbreak of the 2020 war with Azerbaijan.
The government banned at the time any news reports and social media content contradicting its official statements on the hostilities. It used heavy fines to enforce that ban.
Hraparak also pointed out that the Armenian Ministry of Justice drafted late last year legislation that would empower authorities to block access to news websites and social media in times of war. The proposed bill prompted serious concern from media freedom advocates.