During a press conference held on June 12th, several civil society organizations addressed the protests that followed the verdict on the events of March 1. Representatives from the ZLM group issued a joint statement regarding the use of force by the police and other law enforcement agencies.

It was reported that during the protest on June 12th, which coincided with the National Assembly session and was organized by the ‘Tavush is our homeland’ movement, a number of journalists and operators were injured while carrying out their professional duties. These media professionals had received proper training to ensure their safety during such events.

The following journalists and operators were among those who sustained injuries: Vazgen Yetumyan from news.am, Hovsep Hovsepyan from Armlur.am, Narek Hayryan from SivilNet, Nane Hayrapetyan and Aghan Asoyan from ABC media, Edik Malakyan and Arman Gharybyan from operators, Narek Gevorgyan from Mediahub.am, Arpine Baghdasaryan from AlphaNews, and Hovhanness Hakobyan from operators.

Furthermore, various pieces of equipment, including cameras, video recorders, and microphones belonging to protesters, as well as technical equipment from Para TV, Spunik Armenia, and Armlur.am news agencies, were damaged or stolen during the clashes.

As journalists, we firmly condemn the use of force by the ZLM representatives against our fellow journalists and operators, as well as their unprofessional actions that disregarded their professional responsibilities. FOTOLUR photographic agency has also published a series of articles confirming the targeting of journalists and the deliberate damage to their equipment. These events remind us of the incidents that occurred in Yerevan in July 2016, where journalists were injured during protests, and their professional rights were overlooked.

We demand:

1. Immediate measures to protect the injured journalists and operators and ensure their safety in similar situations in the future.
2. A thorough investigation and analysis of the actions of law enforcement agencies responsible for public safety and maintaining order to identify and punish those responsible for violating journalist rights.
3. Prompt acknowledgment and response to complaints, appropriate compensation for affected journalists, and protection of their professional rights.

We express our support and solidarity with all the injured journalists and operators and condemn any form of violence and oppression.

Department of Public Safety
Central Committee of the Vardovmunk organization
Media Ethics Observatory
“ASPAR”