Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan proposes reinstating the death penalty in Armenia. According to him, the study of materials with cases of high treason recorded during and after the 44-day war proves that encroachments on state security make the issue of tightening punitive policy regarding this type of crimes a priority.
Lawyer Mihran Poghosyan told NEWS.am that, for example, Armenian citizens, he said, would no longer be able to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
"To envisage the death penalty for treason without making the issue of who investigates these treason cases, whether they have enough professionalism to be able to solve all this, who will sentence a person to life imprisonment? I can't agree with the thought that a judge like Mnatsakan Martirosyan will sentence any citizen," Mihran Poghosyan stressed.
The lawyer is sure that the Prosecutor General will reject the idea of bypassing the ban on the death penalty, because, in his opinion, it is unacceptable to apply the death penalty to people in case of committing any crime.
"The types of crimes are very different. For some, high treason is considered a serious crime, for some, the prosecutor is still conducting a political prosecution, for others, rape or the murder of a young child. From this point of view, to single out treason and put it on a different plane in order to once again create an impression in society that we think so much about the state that we suggest the death penalty to those who have committed treason," Poghosyan said.
Given the fact that Armenia is a member of several international bodies, the lawyer responded to a question about whether it was problematic for Armenia to circumvent the ban on the death penalty.
"Before 2003, Armenia had a Criminal Code adopted in 1961, which also stipulated the death penalty for certain crimes. In Armenia there were people sentenced to death: that is, the use of the death penalty by firing squad. At the same time during the time of independent Armenia there were sentences by which a person was sentenced to death, but the sentences passed after independence were not carried out. In 2003, when a new code was adopted, the death penalty was excluded. And that sentence was commuted to life imprisonment for those convicts," said the lawyer.
Mihran Poghosyan noted that Armenia has always tried to stay away from the use of the death penalty. "There is also a historical problem. The Armenian people have suffered greatly from the use of the death penalty. That's why we have not accepted the death penalty," he stressed.
The lawyer also responded to a question about the consequences of possibly including the death penalty in the Constitution.
"In legal terms, we cease to be part of the European legal system, that is, when we have problems with the law, we ask the opinion of the Venice Commission, appeal to the ECtHR. In such a case, we will be unacceptable for international structures. We will not be a subject of discussion. We will be in legal isolation, which will not have good consequences," he explained.
