27 March 2018, 02:05
Rights defenders criticize ban for media to attend meetings of Yerevan City Mayoralty and Cabinet of Ministers
On March 26, the Yerevan Press Centre "Article 3" held a discussion on the theme "Closed Doors: The Effects of Legislative Information Restriction" dedicated to legislative acts adopted by the Parliament on March 23 prohibiting journalists to attend meetings of the government and the Yerevan Council.
In the course of the discussion, Shushan Doidoyan, the founder and head of the Centre for Freedom of Information, has noted that the law restricting the media's activities in covering the meetings of the government and the Council of Elders of Yerevan contradicts the European Convention on Human Rights.
According to the rights defender, the legality of the above law can be challenged at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
"In particular, Article 10 of the European Convention notes a number of cases when restrictions can be imposed. And the purpose of the restrictions should be legal. We cannot consider as a legitimate aim the motivation of the authors who initiate the bill and who believe the restrictions are conditioned by the security measures for holding meetings and the desire to work without being constrained by presence of journalists," Shushan Doidoyan explained.
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.
Author: Tigran Petrosyan Source: CK correspondent
