A short while ago, news was received that the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia is planning to convene a session of the Council of the National Assembly, followed by a special parliamentary session. According to Hraparak newspaper, the members of the My Step faction of the National Assembly have undertaken an initiative and put into circulation a new bill through which the parliamentary faction will shut the mouths of the media and members of the opposition through not only administrative fines, but also criminal prosecution.
Basically, whereas until now the law on martial law envisaged AMD 300,000 or AMD 700,000 and a higher fine for any publication that the members of the My Step faction did not like or, as they say, information that is beyond official information, now they want to criminalize those publications so that they can further restrain the media and opposition and, in general, the statements of members of the opposition.
In an interview with Hraparak newspaper, deputy of the Bright Armenia faction Ani Samsonyan confirmed that this bill has already been put into circulation and might be considered during the special parliamentary session to be convened on Monday.
In an interview with 168.am, deputy of the Prosperous Armenia faction of the National Assembly Shakeh Isayan said the faction had not been provided with the paper version of the agenda yet.
“At this moment, the only thing that is clear is that the session of the Council of the National Assembly will be held on Tuesday, but we have not been informed about the items on the agenda, though, of course, we have also heard various rumors, including the rumor about the issue that you mentioned,” the deputy of the National Assembly said.