Pashinyan says no amnesty is planned

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia is not planning an amnesty, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said, adding that a stronger parole system should address that public demand.

Speaking at a meeting with residents of the town of Vayk, Pashinyan said that no amnesty is being planned in Armenia, but the development of the conditional early release system should fill that need.

He recalled that he himself had once been in a penitentiary institution and had been released under an amnesty, but said that had been a political decision made under pressure from the international community, Armenpress reports.

“When it comes to amnesty, that act does not take a person’s individual characteristics into account. It releases everyone who meets the amnesty criteria. Our previous analysis shows that a huge share of those freed after an amnesty return to prison within the first three months. I have tasked the Ministry of Justice with developing and activating the parole system to such an extent that this mechanism comes in and fills that need. Because the parole system examines cases one by one, considering each person’s case separately.

I have set the task of releasing people who are ready to return to a normal, lawful life. We will very quickly increase the scale of conditional early releases,” the prime minister said.