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Panorama.am photographer Lilian Galtsyan has now free access to the building of the National Assembly of Armenia with restored accreditation to cover the activities of the NA Eighth Convocation, including the session planned for Tuesday, August 17. The respective letter has been received from the Staff of the National Assembly in response to the enquiry submitted by the representative of Panorama.am Ltd Irma Tchagharyan. 

To note, on August 11, the legal representative of Panorama.am  submitted a letter to the Staff of the National Assembly, insisting the decision banning the entry of photographer Lilian Galtsyan to the parliament building was illegal and in violation of the basic principles of administration. 

Lilian Galstyan had been banned from entering the building of Armenia’s parliament since August 5, after Deputy Chief of Staff of the National Assembly, Anna Grigoryan, sent a notification letter sent to the editorial office. The National Assembly said in the letter that while carrying out her professional activities, the photographer allegedly violated Clause 2.8 of Appendix 1 of the parliament speaker’s decision on the approval of the rules in the building of the National Assembly, according to which “it is prohibited videotaping, filming and photographing of security personnel during the course of their professional activities on the territory of the protected area, including at checkpoints." 

Incidentally, the photo series by Lilian Galstyan of the security measures in place at the parliament published on the Panorama.am news website have gone viral on the Armenian social media platforms, sparking wide criticism of the government.

It is also worth noting that Clause 2.8 of the legal act was added by Alen Simonyan on July 30, when he was not still the parliament speaker and temporarily assumed the speaker’s duties because then Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan went on vacation on July 27-30.

Panorama.am editorial expresses its sincere gratitude to all media outlets, which voiced concern and condemned the controversial decision of the National Assembly administration, to all journalists and citizens who launched "I am Lilian" campaign and media organizations which condemned the decision and called on the relevant bodies to reconsider their decision. 

Since the ban, Panorama.am covered the activities of the National Assembly with blank images attached to reports with only abbreviation of the National Assembly on them. 

From tomorrow on, readers can follow the National Assembly sessions through the photos taken by Lilian Galstyan.