The Committee added the Maltese government is to ensure that she will be free from any form of persecution and intimidation by the Armenian authorities, and that the reason for the removal of her asylum status is in full conformity with the clear and unequivocal respect of her fundamental human rights.

Ms Khachatryan was granted asylum in the UK after she was imprisoned in Armenia for 40 days in 2003 in the wake of her reporting about electoral fraud. The reasons for her sudden deportation are still unknown but the Committee said that according to the latest press reports, she will be flown to Malta on Friday, then to Moscow and then to the Armenian capital, where she fears persecution.

The Committee said that the Maltese government is to seek the reassurance of the British government that Ms Khachatryan's has been granted the right to contest her deportation, including access to the European Court of Human Rights, as is the right of every refugee.

“We also call on the Maltese government to allow Ms Khachatryan to apply for refugee status while in Malta and that her case is considered by the Commissioner for Refugees on its individual merits, continued the Journalists' Committee.

“We call on you to treat this matter urgently as we insist that our colleague and her family should not be forcibly returned to potential danger and persecution,” it concluded.

In turn, according to maltaStar, a British human rights activist, sent e-mails to various Air Malta offices urging them not to fly the refugee to Armenia, where she faces political oppression and her family’s safety is threatened. According to maltaStar activist, Ian Pollock told the airline that “She fears these threats will be carried through if she is returned to Armenia”.