The Court of Appeal decision on the case against “Iravunk”: The newspaper did not offend anyone

05-03-2015
photo by LGBTnews.am
photo by LGBTnews.am

Today the Civil Court of Appeal reviewed the claim of 16 citizens’ case against “Iravunk” newspaper.

The presiding judge Amhary Petrosyan, judges Nakhshun Tavaratsyan and Gayane Karakhanyan rejected 16 citizen`s claim against “Iravunk”, according to which the editor of “Iravunk” newspaper Hovhannes Galajyan’s article titled “They serve the interests of international homosexual lobbying: the blacklist of country’s and nation’s enemies” offended the honor and dignity of the plaintiffs.

The verdict obliged the plaintiffs to compensate 50,000 AMD in favor of each respondent party: “Iravunk Media” LTD and Hovhannes Galajyan”.

In the above-mentioned article a “blacklist” containing the names and Facebook hyperlinks of 60 people were presented, calling people not to hire them, to express “zero tolerance” and to not communicate with them.

In addition to labeling “enemies”, Galajyan called the 60 people in the article “zombies”

According to the Court Decision no offensive remarks were used in the article and it corresponds to the principles of freedom of speech.