YEREVAN. – The lawsuits which are filed in Armenia against journalists and the media, and on the grounds of insult and libel, have increased by eight in the third quarter of this year, and reached twenty.      

The Committee for the Protection of Freedom of Speech (CPFS) Chairman Ashot Melikyan noted the above-said during a press conference on Friday.

He presented the CPFS 2013 third quarter report on freedom of speech and violation of the rights of journalists and the media.     

In Melikyan’s words, one case of physical violence against journalists was reported in the third quarter of this year, and there were fifteen cases of pressure upon the media and their employees. 

As for the violations in the right to receive and disseminate information, CPFS recorded two such cases in the third quarter of 2013. 

Ashot Melikyan also noted that the aforementioned pressures were linked to some events that occurred in the societal life in Armenia.

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am