Chief of Armenian Parliament Security Service attacks journalist, NGOs claim

The Chief of the Parliament Security Service has used force against a journalist of the "A1+" TV Channel and hindered the journalist's work. This was stated by journalist and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of Armenia.

The incident occurred on September 9, when Marina Khachatryan, a journalist of the "A1+" TV Channel, worked in front of Parliament to highlight a protest action carried out by one of the initiative groups, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to a video from the scene disseminated in the social networks, Marina Khachatryan used her tablet to make a record of a poster attached to the gate of the parliament building. At that moment, a man approached, who introduced himself as a staff member of the Parliament Security Service. He tore the poster off the gate and hit the journalist to her arm.

The attacker was identified as Karen Airapetyan, the Chief of the Security Service of the National Assembly of Armenia. This was stated by the appeal signed by the Committee to Protect Right of Speech, the Yerevan Press Club, the Centre of Media Initiatives (the former "Internews Armenia"), the journalistic club "Asparez", the Institute of Multilateral Information-Armenia, the Public Association "Journalists for the Future", and the "A1+" TV Channel.

"We strongly condemn the violence, and we treat it as an obstacle to the journalist's professional activity and, hence, a misdemeanour subjected to criminal penalty," the appeal states.

The journalistic organizations have appealed to the National Assembly with demand to prosecute the Chief of the Security Service.