Unilateral report on Vigen Sargsyan

During the September 25 evening issue of “Azatutyun” TV news center, a report was broadcasted on the statement of the Investigative Committee on the former Minister of Defense Vigen Sargsyan. The official standpoint is represented, according to which “sufficient evidence has been obtained to involve former Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan as a defendant for abusing his official capacity.”

Then, the whole report is based on the assessments of lawyer Norayr Norikyan, who states that “Armenian servicemen who have been waiting for housing allocations for years have been deprived of their real estate as a result of years of criminal activity.”

The report then presents episodes from the statement released by the Investigative Committee, and if, “Azatutyun”, in the textual version of the same issue, notes that Vigen Sargsyan posted a late-night post on Facebook and quoted it, then the report made by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service is unilateral, and there is no point opposing the accusations against Vigen Sargsyan.

“Media Advocate” Initiative urges “Azatutyun” news center not to violate the presumption of innocence, to preserve the rules on disseminating comprehensive information and to stop broadcasting biased and unilateral reports.