Knar Manukian and Sona Grigorian of the Zhoghovurd daily were banned from the National Assembly late last month after trying to interview a senior pro-government lawmaker, Hayk Konjorian, about his latest property deal that raised more questions about government corruption in Armenia. Konjorian refused to answer their questions.
He went on to complain to the National Assembly staff that Manukian and Grigorian talked to him in an “unauthorized area” of the building. The chief of the staff, Davit Arakelian, promptly revoked their press credentials as a result. Both female reporters insisted that they did not break any rules set for the parliamentary press corps.
Using a one-day pass provided by an opposition lawmaker, they entered the building on Friday to cover a session of the parliament committee on defense and security. The pro-government chairman of the committee, Andranik Kocharian, did not object to their presence until Arakelian showed up to declare that Manukian and Grigorian are not allowed to be there without accreditation.
Amid a shouting match between the official and parliamentary correspondents, security guards then used force to remove the two women from the building. Parliament speaker Alen Simonian defended the expulsion, citing parliamentary statutes regulating press coverage of the legislature.
“These persons have no right to be in the conference room, even as ordinary citizens,” said Simonian.
The Zhoghovurd correspondents reaffirmed their intention to challenge the ban in court. Manukian was already stripped of her accreditation two years ago after arguing with another senior deputy from the ruling Civil Contract party who accused her newspaper of corruption. A Yerevan court restored her access to the parliament in 2024.
Six Armenian press freedom groups criticized Manukian’s and Grigorian’s removal from the building and again demanded the restoration of their credentials.
“All references by the National Assembly leadership to the accreditation procedure for journalists in the parliament cannot be convincing as that document has numerous problems, including contradictions with laws,” they said in a joint statement.
Journalists’ freedom of movement inside the parliament has been restricted since Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, himself a former reporter, came to power in 2018. The ruling party imposed most of those restrictions in 2021. A year later, it amended an Armenian law on mass media to allow the parliament, the prime minister’s office and other government agencies to swiftly revoke journalists’ accreditations typically valid for one year.