Armenian Journalist Goes on Trial

Yet another one of those free speech stories breaking cover:

The trial opened in Yerevan and immediately adjourned on January 17 of Gagik Shamshian...Shamshian faces charges, which he denies, of having extorted money in 1998-2004 from residents of Yerevan's Nubarashen district in return for not publishing articles criticizing them, and, on the basis of unpublished cartoons, of defamation.

The charges were brought against Shamshian last August, two months after he claimed to have been assaulted by associates of Nubarashen Mayor Mher Hovannisian. Shamshian claimed Hovannisian was angered by articles he published criticizing the district authorities. Shamshian said on January 17 that a senior prosecutor recently offered to drop the charges against him if he wrote to the OSCE admitting his guilt.

Does anyone out there really believe the extortion story?

Source: EurasiaNet