9 journalists battered in Armenia in 2010

Nine journalists were battered in Armenia in 2010, according to the chairman of the Committee for Protection of Freedom of Speech, an Armenian NGO.

Introducing the Committee's 2010 report at a news conference on Wednesday, Ashot Melikyan said that while fewer journalists were subjected to violence last year, there were more cases of using pressure on journalists - 19 cases against last year's 14.

In its recent report, the committee also provides a detailed description of all the attempts aimed at impeding journalists' activities. Among other things, it dwells on the cases of violence and physical pressures against the jailed editor-in-chief of Haykakan Zhamanak daily, Nikol Pashinyan.

Melikyan noted that more cases of violence had been recorded in the first and second quarters of 2010.

The authors of the report also note that no criminal cases were instituted for the reported cases of violence.