Media organizations demand that HHK lawmaker lay down his parliamentary mandate
A group of media organizations in Armenia have expressed their concern over the inappropriate behaviour of Mher Sedrakyan, a lawmaker representing the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK). “During the February 19 special session of the National Assembly, HHK lawmaker Mher Sedrakyan demonstrated impudent behaviour towards media representatives, first calling them a herd, then screamed obscenities at one of the journalists gathered in the NA corridor. The lawmaker later took the journalist aside and tried to have a ‘private conversation’ with him. This is not the first time Sedrakyan has insulted a media representative. On December 19, 2012, Mher Sedrakyan offended Mher Arshakyan, a journalist working with A1+ Company, saying him, “Get off or I shall break your jaw.” On May 22, 2014, Sedrakyan cursed and insulted Tert.am journalists who had approached him with a question. And although the parliament’s Ethics Committee decided that the lawmaker had broken the norms of journalistic ethics and the norms of parliamentary ethics, it does not seem to have had any influence on the HHK MP. The organizations demand that the HHK leaders discuss the behaviour of their teammate and punish him, urging him to lay down his parliamentary mandate. They also call on the NA Speaker and HHK faction to publicly condemn the behavior of the MP, make him apologize to all journalists he has insulted and guarantee that such incidents do not happen again. The letter was signed by the Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression, Yerevan Press Club, Media Initiatives Center (former Internews), Asparez Journalists' Club, Public Journalism Club, Freedom of Information Center of Armenia, Journalists for the Future, Journalists for Human Rights NGO and Goris Press Club.
