Hetq won the “Media Excellence” prize yesterday at the 2014 Universal Rights awards ceremony held at the Congress hotel in Yerevan. The award singles out Hetq for its professionalism in the field of investigative journalism and expose of human rights issues.

Dirk Lorenz, Chargé d'Affairesof the EU Delegation to Armenia, handed the award to Hetq Editor in Chief Edik Baghdasaryan. 

"EU is reiterating on different occasions that free, diverse and independent media constitutes one of the cornerstones of a democratic society by facilitating the free flow of information and ideas, and by ensuring transparency and accountability. Hetq online is a vivid example of investigative journalism in Armenia, which is actively involved in reporting on different fields. Throughout its performance the journalists of Hetq have proved their professionalism and dedication to media principles", said Mr. Lorenz.    

Accepting the award, Baghdasaryan thanked the Hetq staff and said that the greatest accomplishment has been the formation of a professional news team.

The awards ceremony was organized by the Council of Europe, Counterpart International, the EU delegation, the OSCE, the UN, and the embassies of Great Britain and the U.S.

The “Freedom Defender" award was shared by Ara Ghazaryan and Artak Zeynalyan for their noteworthy efforts in the defense of human rights. 

The “Civic Activism" award was given to the organizers of the of the “We Will Not Pay 150 Drams” movement for their exemplary efforts in pursuing transparency and accountability in the public decision making process.

The “Woman of Courage" award went to the Women’s Resource Center for its courageous defense of women’s rights and gender equality.

The “Government Reformer" award” was given to Deputy Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan for his work towards improving awareness of and adherence to human rights in the military.

For her leadership work in the community of Karahounj, Mayor Lousineh Avetyan won the “Local Governance Reformer" award”.

The “Community Service" award” was bestowed to Laura Movisyan, Director of Yerevan’s Children’s Rehabilitation Center for her outstanding work in offering rehabilitative services to children with disabilities.