President Armen Sarkissian refused to sign into law the bill on increasing the fines for public defamation and insults which passed parliament earlier in March.
A discussion was held on April 12 at the European Parliament relating to the issue of the release and return of the Armenian prisoners of war from Azerbaijan.
The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) released the following statement today:
The truth is that Serzh Sargsyan had promised that the Armenian side would never give up the territories considered as a security zone should Ilham Aliyev not comply with the demands of the Armenian side to determine the status of Nagorno-Karabakh outside Azerbaijan, ensure a reliable land border / inland communication between Armenia and Artsakh, and provide a pledge for internationally guaranteed security for the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.
President Armen Sarkissian will apply to the Constitutional Court to dispute the conformity of the recently proposed amendments to the Judicial Code with the Constitution of Armenia.
The Italian town of San Vito dei Normanni has unanimously adopted a resolution recognizing the independence of Artsakh, the Armenian Embassy in Italy reports.
“It is the responsibility of the Armenian authorities to protect media freedom and free expression in the country,” said Marc Behrendt, director for Europe and Eurasia programs at Freedom House.
Former Presidents of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan and former Presidents of Artsakh Arkady Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan held a meeting on March 25, Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s spokesperson Arman Musinyan said on Facebook.
On March 24, the National Assembly adopted the draft law on “Amendment to the Civil Code of the Republic of Armenia” by second reading, thus tripling the financial fines for insult and slander: for insult it is equal to AMD 3 million instead of the existing threshold of AMD 1 million, and for slander it is up to AMD 6 million instead of the existing threshold of 2 million.
American-Armenian reality TV superstar Kim Kardashian, her mother Kris Jenner and sister Kourtney Kardashian have joined the challenge initiated by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) urging US President Joe Biden to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
