An Armenian journalist known for writing stories exposing government corruption has been attacked and beaten by unknown assailants, the seventh such incident in the country this year, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) has reported.
Edik Baghdasarian, an award-winning investigative reporter who runs the Yerevan-based online magazine Hetq, said he had left his office in downtown Yerevan at about 8 p.m. Monday when he was ambushed. “Right near [my] car, two people attacked me and began to land heavy blows," Baghdasarian, also head of the Armenian Association of Investigative Journalists, told RFE/RL. "I retaliated, and we were exchanging blows. I punched one of them, and since I was holding a mobile phone in my hand at that moment, the phone now has blood stains on it, presumably the blood of one of the attackers.”
Then, according to Baghdasarian, a third person hit him on the head from behind and knocked him unconscious. He said the attackers ran away after a security worker from a nearby construction site fired a shot into the air. Baghdasarian was hospitalised with head injuries.
“Such a violent attack on an independent journalist who covers corruption and crime is, at the very least, disturbing,” Paris-based Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) said. “As prompt and exhaustive an investigation as possible must be carried out as a matter of urgency in order to identify his assailants.”
Baghdasarian lost a computer disc in the attack that contained several investigative stories he planned to publish. He believes the attack was connected to his reporting. Police say they are investigating the incident.
Baghdasarian's assault is the seventh reported case of violence against a media representative in Armenia this year, according to RFE/RL. No one has yet been punished for any of the attacks.
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said he was “worried” by the attack on Baghdasarian after visiting him in hospital on Wednesday. Sona Truzyan, the spokesperson for the prosecutor-general’s office, said the incident was being investigated as an “assault” under article 113 of the criminal code.
