Today, the RA President Serzh Sargsyan visited the Yeghishe Charents Museum of Literature and Art and the National Gallery of Armenia. This is from the official newsfeed.
Today, the photo reporter of Irvaban.net website tried to take photos of the President at the gallery’s rear entrance.
First, one of the president’s bodyguards approached and asked our photographer to free the road sector and to take photos form the pavement.
When we tried to make photos from the sidewalk, a police officer approached and required to goi back.
We said that the body guard had already maintained the security requirement norms, but the policeman insisted claiming to abide to his “legitimate” requirement and even tried to ground it.
He claimed that had the right to interfere in the work of photojournalists pursuant to Article 22 of the RA Law on Police and Article 44 of the RA Constitution.
Such cases frequently occur when police directly interferes with the rights of citizens and journalists. And those officers who have looked through the Constitution or the RA Law on Police, even try to justify their claims by the law.
Naturally, the journalists, and especially the citizens who are not lawyers by profession would find it difficult to find out the grounds pointed by the policeman.
However, in such case we have to record that Article 44 of the New Constitution provides for limitation of the freedom of assembly and gatherings, so this is not a legitimate requirement for prohibiting the free movement of a journalist or citizen.
In addition Article 22, Point 6 of the RA law on Police really provides the right to the police to temporarily restrict or prohibit the movement of traffic or pedestrians, as the police officers who were at service on the road behind the building of the gallery, who did not allow the citizens to continue movement unless the President entered the gallery.
There is one important exception here, which especially the police officers shall know. The Law authorize them to restrict or prohibit temporarily the traffic and the movement of passers-by, as well as oblige them to stay in specific areas or facilities, in the streets and on the roads with the purpose to ensure the protection of their lives, health or property or perform investigation immediately advising so the superiors;
The traffic and the movement of the passers-by may be restricted temporarily during state and mass events.
So there is nothing said about restriction of the right of journalists or citizens during the visits of the President or other officials.
Finally, we present photos that are pretty bad, because “law abiding” officers and security guards did not allow to approach the President.
