Global Watchdog Slams Armenian Frequency Tender

The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) called the Thursday decision of the National Commission on Television and Radio to keep A1+ TV off the air “another setback for freedom of expression and information in Armenia.”

“It’s clear that keeping a critic off the air is more important to this government than its international legal obligations,” said Giorgi Gogia, the HRW’s South Caucasus researcher.

A1+ was arguably the sole Armenian TV station critical of the authorities before losing its broadcasting right in 2002 in a similar licensing competition administered by a government-influenced body. The company, now operating a popular news website and ‘On-line TV’ has failed to regain its license in any of a dozen tenders it has taken part in since.

In its statement issued late on Thursday the group underscored that Armenia has denied a broadcast license to the company “despite a European Court of Human Rights judgment that previous denials violated freedom of expression.”

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