The draft law “On Declaring Amnesty,” submitted by the Ministry of Justice, has been put into circulation on the unified website for the publication of draft legal acts.
The draft proposes declaring amnesty for persons suspected, accused, or convicted of committing a minor or medium-gravity crime as of 26 September 2020 inclusive, who participated in the 44-day Artsakh war during the period from 27 September to 9 November 2020.
It is also proposed to apply amnesty to those servicemen who participated in the 44-day war and who are suspected, accused, or convicted of committing a crime against the order of military service as provided for in Chapter 32 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia during the period of martial law, from 27 September 2020 to 24 March 2021.
It is also envisaged that, in the event of the adoption of the draft law, amnesty shall also apply to persons who are on the wanted list until this law enters into force, who personally and voluntarily appear before the criminal prosecution bodies, or, if the case is before a court, before the court, by 1 February 2022 inclusive.
The government justifies the move by stating that it appreciates the devotion to the noble cause of fulfilling the civic duty of standing alongside the armed forces during military operations, and that in response, a humanitarian approach is being shown toward persons who have committed crimes against the order of military service.
