Armenian Parliament Restricts Public Demonstrations

Jurist reports that the Armenian National Assembly voted 90-6 in favor of further restricting rallies if “trustworthy reports” indicate that a demonstration would threaten national security, public order or violate the constitutional rights of other citizens. The legal news site also updates its readers on the story so far.

Last week, Armenian President Robert Kocharian issued a decree lifting media restrictions put in place during a state of emergency declared after last month’s contested election. Many media restrictions remain in place, however, and the government is accused of censoring material deemed to be critical of its policies. Kocharian declared the state of emergency on March 1 after protesters demonstrated against the result of the February 19 presidential election in which Prime Minister Serzh Sarksyan, a Kocharian ally, was declared the winner. Earlier this month, the Constitutional Court of Armenia rejected a challenge brought by opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian against the election results, ruling that although polling discrepancies existed they did not affect the election’s outcome.