Yesterday the NA Standing Committee on Legal Affairs in its closed session gave a positive opinion about President Serzh Sargsyan’s proposal to grant amnesty. Prior to that, it was known that the NA Speaker convened an extraordinary NA session on June 19, dedicated only to the amnesty issue.
Yesterday at the end of the Committee session it turned out that not all opposition members and supporters imprisoned following last year’s Armenian presidential election will likely walk free as a result of a general amnesty. As of yesterday it was clear that amnesty will not be granted to at least 15 political prisoners, including NA MP Sasoun Michaelyan, who is prosecuted for nine years of imprisonment. “I have personally asked concrete questions to the Minister of Justice whether the amnesty includes our four colleagues as well as Gagik Jhangiryan and Smbat Ayvazyan. The answer’s the following – it will not include S. Michaelyan but the others will be included. Jhangiryan and Ayvazyan will be released. The amnesty will cover about 90% of the defendants of March 1,” informed independent MP Victor Dallakyan. Amnesty was supposed to cover the detainees of the March 1-2 events as well. But the article is entitled "Convicts sentenced to a 5-year imprisonment will be pardoned." The document conveys a dual interpretation. On the one hand, amnesty is said to cover the detainees of the March 1 unrest. On the other hand, there are articles under which charges are brought against people complicit in the March 1-2 events which are omitted from the draft decision. For instance, amnesty will cover detainees or defendants charged under Article 225, but it doesn’t cover detainees under Article of violence against a government representative, and detainees under article defining carrying of illegal weapons by a group of people, etc. It also includes people above the age 60. Although the prosecutors demanded a 9-year imprisonment for Michaelyan but the court hasn’t made its verdict yet. Nevertheless, judging from the above-mentioned no pardon will be granted to Sasun Michaelyan even if the sentence is lowered down to six years. Amnesty will cover all criminals detained by June 1 of the current year. It means that the fakers of the May 31 municipal election can also be acquitted. Even before the rumors on amnesty there was information that the government doesn’t especially wish to release Michaelyan. There is an opinion that his behavior during the litigation, the insulting words addressed to the judge, prosecutor, the president and the government overall, have deeply offended the government. And in order not to release Michaelyan the government is suggesting that no amnesty should be granted to the ones charged under Article 235 (Clause 2). Reminder: The MP is charged under the first part of Article 225 of the RA Criminal Code and Article 235/1-2 (carrying of illegal weapons by a group of people). Indeed, the amnesty will include Article 225 but as 2nd part of Article 235 is not applied that Michaelyan is not included at all. This explanation was brought up by NA MP, chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Legal Affairs Davit Harutyunyan. “Because judicial processes are not over, nobody can now say for certain whether or not the amnesty will apply to them,” Harutyunyan said. The amnesty will not cover 8 more articles of the Criminal Code of RA. By the proposal of Serzh Sargsyan Aram Bareghamyan, who is charged under Articles 316 and 112 of the code (6 years of imprisonment) will also not be included in the amnesty list. The list includes 51 people but about 15 of them will not be granted an amnesty. Amnesty will not cover Sasun Miakelian, Mushegh Saghatelyan, Hayk Gevorgyan, Mkrtich Safeyan, Jora Safeyan, Harutiun Urutyan, Shmavon Galstyan, Vanush Davtyan, Ara Hovhannisyan, Aram Ghahramanyan, Armen Khurshudyan, Gabriel Gevorgyan, Felix Gevorgyan and Vrej Nikoyan. It is hard to tell why the president “selected” especially these detainees but if wished the president could have included articles, which would allow to grant amnesty to the mentioned people as well. MP Zaruhy Postanjyan has made a list of people prosecuted for their political views. The list includes 51 people but about 15 of them will not be granted an amnesty. With regard to Alexander Arzumanyan, Suren Sirunyan and Grigor Voskerchyan, Mrs. Postanjyan said: "I have a fear and I came up with a proposal to grant an amnesty to all detainees charged under the March 1-2 deadly clashes regardless of court verdicts. For instance, if someone is charged under Article 225 of the Penal Code, he won’t get an amnesty; simply the term of sentence will be reduced." “By taking into account the fact that on June 24 of the current year the full session of the PACE will take place. In this regard we are asking you to make the list of the ones, who will be granted amnesty more inclusive. The list should include more people, accused of the organization of the post-election clashes of 2008,” mentioned Postanjyan. Let us also mention that if Sargsyan doesn’t give its consent then this suggestion cannot be accepted. Dallakyan yesterday informed that he will also make a suggestion to the President. Nor will two other prominent opposition figures, who went into hiding in March 2008 to avoid arrest, necessarily be eligible for pardon. Those are parliament deputy and wealthy businessman Khachatur Sukiasyan and Nikol Pashinyan, a newspaper editor who played a major part in massive demonstrations organized by the Ter-Petrosyan-led opposition in the wake of the February 2008 ballot. Under the bill in question, they need to surrender to the police by July 31 in order to have any chance of being cleared of the riot charges. Having said this, there is a contradiction in the bill presented by the President. The 2/Z point of the bill reads that the ones, who committed mass crime on March 1-2 of 2008, should be released under the amnesty. But then it turns out that point 8/E defines that the 15 people under the above-mentioned articles cannot be released. The Minister of Justice says the amnesty will cover some 2000 convicts (500 of which will be released immediately) and will be executed by September 30.