Ashot Hakobyan

Affiliated media: Aravot.am, Journalist

Incident date: June 6, 2025

Attack type:

• Illegal impediments to journalistic activity, denial of access to information

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Aravot.am

Location: Armenia, Yerevan

Additional information:

On June 6, the lawful professional activities of journalists were obstructed at the Court of Appeals of the Republic of Armenia. Presiding Judge Mkhitar Papoyan prohibited correspondents from the news site Aravot.am and Radio Liberty, Ashot Hakobyan and Naira Bulghadaryan, from taking photographs and making audio recordings from positions that would allow them to produce high-quality content during an open court session. The judge displayed rude and dismissive behaviour toward the journalists and then imposed sanctions by banning them from the courtroom for one hour. Later, following a formal complaint, the Judicial Department called on the judge to allow the journalists to resume filming, an appeal that further angered Papoyan.