A1+ journalist goes to Appeal Court, demands to initiate proceedings (video)
Marine Khachatryan, a journalist working with A1+ Company and her legal representative, have started an appeal to the Court of Appeal requesting the latter to discard the decision of a Yerevan court and oblige the investigative body to continue the inquiry into a last September incident near the National Assembly in Yerevan. In August, the Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan’s Arabkir and Kanaker-Zeytun administrative districts rejected the journalist’s appeal against a decision of a SIS investigator, who decided to terminate proceedings in last year’s assault case outside the National Assembly due to lack of corpus delicti. On September 9, 2014, after members of the Hakaharvats (Counter Attack) street art group hung a banner reading “Hello Rob” (Rob referring to Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan) on the National Assembly’s main gate, the chief of the NA security Karen Hayrapetyan came out and tore down the banner. Then he hit A1+’s journalist Marine Khachatryan, who was covering the incident, on the arm, causing her to drop her recording device – iPad – to the ground. Karen Hayrapetyan then tried to hit the journalist for a second time but he missed her. Karen Hayrapetyan continued to hinder her work even after the journalist introduced herself. Hardly had the court sitting begun today when it was adjourned until November 6 for Prosecutor Hakob Yenokyan did not attend the hearing. He had informed the court in a written letter that he would not be able to participate in the sitting due to workload. Artak Zeynalyan, a legal representative of Marine Khachatryan, says there is crime in Karen Hayrapetyan’s act and criminal proceedings shall be instituted under the dealing with Obstruction of journalists’ activities and abuse of official position." He does not rule out that the Court of Appeal might turn down their appeal. “Practice has shown it,” Mr Zeynalyan said.
