Yerevan mayor’s lawyer says dismissive media remark was not about CivilNet

By Gevorg Tosunyan

Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan’s controversial claim that “the media has become a garbage dump” was not aimed at CivilNet, but was instead a general remark about disinformation in the media, his legal representative Vahagn Gasparyan told a Yerevan court on May 6.

The statement in question was made by Avinyan during a live broadcast on Factor TV on December 18, 2024, during a debate with former mayor Hayk Marutyan. At the time, Avinyan was responding to allegations stemming from an investigative report published by CivilNet and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), titled “Armenia’s Former Deputy PM Oversaw Project That Benefited His Family Company.”

In court, Avinyan’s representative insisted the mayor’s comment was a broad critique of lies and manipulation in the media, not a targeted attack on any specific outlet. “You must demonstrate which part of that statement applies to you,” Gasparyan said, addressing CivilNet’s legal team.

Karen Tonoyan, representing the Civilitas Foundation (CivilNet’s parent organization), rejected that claim, arguing that the mayor’s words were clearly directed at CivilNet. “The CivilNet article was being discussed live on air when Avinyan made the comment,” Tonoyan said. “Moreover, the host, Robert Ananyan, immediately interjected, asking the mayor not to target CivilNet’s partners.”

Tonoyan further noted that Avinyan did not deny the statement was about CivilNet and even went on to justify the need to confront “lies and manipulation,” reinforcing the impression that the media outlet was his intended target. “Even the host, a neutral party, evidently understood that the remark was aimed at CivilNet,” Tonoyan concluded.

Judge Tigran Grigoryan heard arguments from both sides and assigned the burden of proof before scheduling the next hearing for June 3 at 5:00 p.m.

The legal claims

CivilNet is asking the court to compel Tigran Avinyan to publicly apologize for the comment during a live broadcast on Factor TV and to ensure that the final portion of the court’s decision is published on the broadcaster’s website. CivilNet is not seeking monetary damages in this suit.

However, in a separate defamation case initiated by Avinyan himself, the mayor is demanding a retraction and 3 million drams ($7,700) in damages over the same investigative article. That lawsuit was filed before Civilitas brought its own case against the mayor.

Also read: ‘Media have become a garbage dump’: Yerevan Mayor sues CivilNet

The article, authored by CivilNet reporters Mkrtich Karapetyan and Ani Grigoryan, revealed that during Avinyan’s tenure as Deputy Prime Minister (2018–2021), he oversaw agriculture policy while his family’s company, Irrigate LLC, received subcontracting work from nine beneficiaries of a state-run agricultural program. Five of those recipients received nearly $620,000 in direct payments to establish orchards — a service provided by the Avinyan family’s firm.

Throughout the reporting process, CivilNet repeatedly contacted Avinyan, his relatives, and the municipality’s spokesperson for comment. None responded, and no requests for correction or clarification were submitted.