Armenia’s Public Television seriously violates professional norms: YPC Chairman Boris Navasardyan on Public TV’s coverage about Hrayr Tovmasyan

Aysor.am has conducted an interview with the Chairman of the Yerevan Press Club Boris Navardyan about the coverage of Public Television about Armenia’s Constitutional Court Chairman Hrayr Tovmasyan.

- Mr Navasardyan, can we describe this coverage as media attack if to consider the response of Hrayr Tovmasyan’s lawyers’ team who described it as violation of presumption of innocence and publication of secret of the preliminary investigation?

- Of course, this material needs to be studied, but I may suppose that it has been provided by the preliminary investigation body, and I really agree that while providing such like materials it is also necessary to remind about the presumption of innocence, which in this case was not done. If the reminding about presumption of innocence is being missed by the preliminary investigation body, the media broadcasting or publishing such material must do it itself. I think this case is a serious violation of professional norms by Public TV.

To give a deeper assessment to the material, I would like body monitoring mass media ethics, consisting of 14 professionals, discuss it and give corresponding conclusion. This conclusion would have been important in regard that Public Television has joined mass media self-regulation initiative and is obliged to broadcast the conclusion of the monitoring body. I think it will be viewed at some extent as moral compensation for Mr Tovmasyan if he has some grounded issues regarding this material. We would have discussed this issue with big readiness, if we had received corresponding complaint.

- Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shared the coverage on his Facebook page writing that “Hrayr Tovmasyan cannot be CC chairman and have any relation to the CC.” Mr Navasardyan, does not it testify that the coverage and the PM’s post is a clear instruction to the law enforcement bodies? Does not it speak about political persecution?

- Not always it is the country’s leader or high-ranking official who gives direct orders or instructions to the law enforcement bodies or mass media for publication of information. In many cases these structures try to guess what the influential high-ranking official wants and come up with own initiative. I don’t know whether there was an order in this case, however, it does not make any difference in this case, as on one hand there is a clear attack on Tovmasyan by the leadership of the country, on the other, we continue having obedient state structures acting unlawfully. Indeed, it remains a rather serious issue. If we are speaking about mass media, I repeat the only way to get away from it is not only improve the activity of different regulatory bodies but also develop mass media ethics initiative. There is no other way to get away from, like they love to name, “hybrid wars.”

Yesterday the Armenian Public Television showed coverage in its evening news program relating to the chairman of the Constitutional Court and telling about the criminal proceedings against him at the Special Investigation Service relating to the period when Hrayr Tovmasyan was minister of justice.

Tovmasyan’s lawyers’ team claims that the coverage presents unreliable data, the proofs are presented impartially and the principle of presumption of innocence has been cynically violated.