By Gevorg Tosunyan
Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan announced that he filed a lawsuit against CivilNet over a corruption investigation by its journalists Mkrtich Karapetyan and Ani Grigoryan, produced in collaboration with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, an international network of investigative reporters.
CivilNet’s investigation, titled Armenia’s Former Deputy PM Oversaw Project That Benefited His Family Company, revealed that between 2018 and 2021 when Avinyan served as Deputy Prime Minister overseeing the agricultural sector, nine beneficiaries of a government program providing subsidies to agricultural businesses subcontracted work to a company owned by Avinyan’s family. A total of five beneficiaries received about $620,000 worth of direct payments to set up intensively cultivated orchards. The establishment of the gardens was carried out by “Irrigate” LLC headed by Avinyan’s father.
Avinyan said during a Wednesday evening debate with former mayor Hayk Marutyan on Factor TV that he had told his father, the central figure in the investigation, to file a lawsuit against CivilNet, responding to Marutyan’s accusations and references to the CivilNet/OCCRP article.
Avinyan also declared that “media have become a large garbage dump,” later clarifying “some media outlets” when pressed by the host. Despite dismissing CivilNet’s findings, Avinyan did not present any evidence to prove his point.
CivilNet repeatedly attempted to contact Avinyan, his family members, and the mayor’s spokesperson for comments before publishing the investigation. The Avinyans did not respond to these inquiries. Instead, they filed a lawsuit against CivilNet on December 10, weeks after the article was published.
Civil Society Criticizes Avinyan’s Statement
Arthur Papyan, president of the Yerevan Press Club, considers Tigran Avinyan’s statement unacceptable.
“Calling a media outlet garbage is already problematic,” he told CivilNet. He argues that the issue and CivilNet’s publication should be discussed by the ruling Civil Contract party’s leadership. “Civil Contract should make its stance on Avinyan’s statements and actions clear,” Papyan says.
He calls on Avinyan to resolve the matter out of court, using the Information Disputes Council and the Media Ethics Observatory. According to Papyan, in some cases, courts themselves consult the Information Disputes Council for advisory opinions.
Shushan Doydoyan, head of the Freedom of Information Center NGO, believes that Avinyan must tolerate criticism directed at him.
“He must be open and accountable to the public and provide substantiated and clear answers to these questions, rather than rushing to settle scores with journalists who speak up about his shortcomings and oversights,” Doydoyan wrote on Facebook.
CivilNet in Other Legal Disputes
CivilNet’s articles have often led to trials in court.
Among recent court cases was a lawsuit filed by the director of the Alaverdi Medical Center regarding an investigation that exposed his abuse of power (Alaverdi Medical Center Director: Monopolist of the ‘Death’ Business). CivilNet won cases in both first-instance and appeal courts, leading to the director’s dismissal.
In January 2024, CivilNet and Transparency International Armenia also won a court case against the Environmental and Mining Inspection Body. The latter was found guilty of failing to provide information.
CivilNet and Transparency International Armenia scored a major legal victory in June 2023, with a Yerevan court holding that Armenia’s mining oversight body must release documents requested under freedom of information laws.
Read more: CivilNet wins freedom of information case against Armenia’s mining oversight body
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