Armenian parliament backs prison amnesty
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 3 October 2013 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Armenian parliament backs prison amnesty, 3 October 2013, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/526104418.html [accessed 18 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
October 03, 2013
By RFE/RL's Armenian Service
Armenia Justice Minister Hrair Tovmasian said 1,200 to 1,300 inmates would be amnestied.
YEREVAN – The Armenian parliament has given its support to a presidential proposal on a national prison amnesty. Last month, President Serzh Sarkisian proposed an amnesty for prison inmates to mark the 22nd anniversary of Armenia's independence, celebrated on September 21.
Justice Minister Hrair Tovmasian told journalists on October 3 that 1,200 to 1,300 inmates out of some 4,600 inmates in the country's penitentiaries and detention centers will be amnestied. Some 500 to 600 men and women will be released from the country's penitentiaries, while the prison terms of others will be shortened.
Convicts who committed crimes before September 1, 2013, are eligible, not including those serving sentences for serious offenses such as murder and rape. It is the ninth national amnesty in Armenia since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
