Tigran Sargsyan sues media outlets in Armenia: Resons behind the move (video)
In a press conference held on October 7, 2016, Armenian citizen Ashot Grigoryan criticized the country’s former Prime Minister [Tigran Sargsyan]. The press conference was covered by a number of media outlets, including “Iravunk” daily, A1+ Company, tert.am, 168 Zham daily and Andradardz press club. Now, the former PM has decided to sue and punish the aforesaid media outlets stating that ‘they defamed his honour, dignity and business reputation.’ “At that time, everyone was speaking about the offshore scandal. In accordance with the Civil Code, the media outlet is exempt from liability if it cites the source and quotes the words said in verbatim,” lawyer Levon Baghdasaryan said during a press conference on June 6. “This high-ranking official [Tigran Sargsyan] is trying to break the news industry so that media outlets will stop or refrain from publishing and broadcasting disgraceful actions or inaction of officials,” he continued. The lawyer regrets that other media companies are passive. “They should unite in a joint struggle against media restrictions. The same might happen to other media outlets as well,” Levon Baghdasaryan added.
