Affiliated media: Hetq.am, News website

Incident date: October 17, 2022

Attack type:

• Court trial

Who attacked: Non-authorities

Source: Judicial Information System

Location: Armenia, Yerevan

Additional information:

On October 17, businessman Ashot Khlghatyan filed a suit with the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction against lawyer Lernik Hovhannisyan, demanding a public refutation of the information considered libelous and payment of monetary compensation. The NGO Investigative Journalists was involved in the case as a third party. The reason for the lawsuit was the letter addressed to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and published on September 8 on the Hetq.am website owned by this organization. The letter said, in particular, that the gas station, owned by the lawyer's trustee, is illegally operated by the plaintiff Khlghatyan. A criminal case was filed in this regard, but the property return is delayed because, according to the defendant, certain officials, pursuing common corrupt interests with the violator of the law, do everything to continue enjoying the fruits of the illegal exploitation of the gas station. The lawsuit is being considered.