09:43, 4 November 2018

Armenian President signs amnesty law

Armen Sargsyan has signed the amnesty law that covers more than 600 people and was adopted by the Parliament.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 1, the Armenian Parliament adopted the amnesty law, despite the position of some MPs concerning the liberation of the members of the "Sasna Tsrer" detachment.

The armed "Sasna Tsrer" detachment, consisting of supporters of the oppositional "Constituent Parliament", captured the building of the regiment of patrol-and-post service in Yerevan and kept it from July 17 to July 31, 2016. The rebels took hostages, but released them the day before they surrendered.

"Armen Sargsyan has signed the amnesty law, timed to the 2800th anniversary of Yerevan and the 100th anniversary of the first Republic of Armenia," the website of the Armenian President has reported.

The amnesty covers the suspects or those accused of committed crimes before October 1, 2018, inclusive. Artak Zeinalyan, the Acting Minister of Justice of Armenia, said that after the amnesty 270 people will be released, other 396 convicts will have their prison terms reduced.

The previous amnesty was announced in Armenia in 2013 on the occasion of the 22nd anniversary of the republic's independence; then, it covered 270 inmates.

Earlier, it was reported that dozens of inmates from two correctional institutions of Armenia went on an endless hunger strike, demanding to revise the amnesty bill.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 3, 2018 at 07:26 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.