Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s headquarters
YEREVAN (Azatutyun.am) In a move condemned by press freedom groups, Armenian prosecutors have drafted legislation that would make defamation of government, law enforcement and other state officials a crime punishable by up to two years in prison.
All forms of defamation were decriminalized in Armenia in 2010 during the rule of former President Serzh Sarkisian. The move was recommended by the Council of Europe.
A bill circulated by the Office of the Prosecutor General and posted on a government website on Wednesday says that slander and insults directed at state officials performing their duties have become commonplace and must be criminalized. It says that individuals making slanderous claims through mass media or other public channels must face up to two years’ imprisonment and heavy fines.
Armenia Slides In Global Democracy Ranking
Փետրվար 05, 2021
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The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a London-based think-tank, has downgraded Armenia’s position in its annual survey of the state of democracy around the world.
Armenia fell from 86
th to 89
th place in the EIU’s latest Democracy Index after rising substantially in the global ranking during the previous two years.
The EIU rates 167 countries and territories on five indicators, including civil liberties and electoral process and pluralism, and divides them into four categories: “full” and “flawed” democracies, “hybrid regimes” and “authoritarian regimes.”
Armenia remains in the “hybrid regime” category of nations with an aggregate democracy “score” of 5.35 out of 10. The EIU gave it 5.54 points in the Democracy Index 2019 released a year ago.
COVID-19 Update: Michigan Organizations Receive U.S. Labor Department Grants, State Launches $1.5M Ad Campaign to Inform Citizens About COVID-19 Vaccine, and More
Here is a roundup of the latest news concerning the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to announcements from local, state, and federal governments, as well as international channels. To share a business or nonprofit story, please send us a message.
Courtesy of Bridge, as of Jan. 19
Here is a roundup of the latest news concerning the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to announcements from local, state, and federal governments, as well as international channels. To share a business or nonprofit story, please send us a message.
Two local nonprofits awarded Indiana Humanities grants
By Staff Report
INDIANAPOLIS Schools, libraries and other organizations across the Hoosier State have received grants from Indiana Humanities to provide public humanities programs in their communities. Among those were Dani’s Dreams Innovation in Education Corporation and the League of Women Voters.
Dani’s Dreams, a New Palestine-based organization that connects students and teachers to the world around them using media and technology, received an Action Grant in the amount of $3,000 for its plan to implement “Growing Informed Citizens.” Dani’s Dreams Innovation in Education Corp. promoted media literacy through the study of the graphic novel “The Birth of the First Amendment.” As part of the programming, scholars and professional journalists led a series of multimedia communication, research, sourcing and writing projects to help high school students explore the role of journalists in protecting the First Amen