16 April 2004, 11:54
Journalists beaten during dispersal of opposition meeting in Armenia, OSCE to seek punishment for the guilty
The OSCE is deeply concerned over the use of force against people and journalists during the dispersal of the opposition meeting, said Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin.
The OSCE pays special attention to the further destiny of the people who were detained and received bodily injuries as well as to the searches conducted in headquarters of the leading opposition parties the same night, the ambassador said. The OSCE will seek punishment for those guilty of the beating of journalists during the dispersal of the meeting, he added.
To remind, 4 journalists, including a cameraman for ORT TV channel, were savagely beaten by police on the night of April 12-13. Aik Gevorkian, a contributor to the Aikakan Zhamanak newspaper, said the order to beat him had been given personally by deputy chief of the Armenian police Ovannes Varian.
Source: Rosbalt News Agency
