Armenian parliament tackling issue of ‘thieves-in-law’

The National Assembly of Armenia is discussing amendments to the criminal code, which makes punishment for “involvement in the criminal underworld” harsher.

After discussing the bill in the government, PM Nikol Pashinyan briefly defined the essence of this project, moreover, in Russian: “a thief should be in prison”.

What will the amendments change?

According to the amendments, status of “thief in law” will now be sufficient reason to press charges against an individual.

“It is planned to make it possible to prosecute for granting, obtaining or maintaining status in the criminal hierarchy, including the creation, leadership, participation, involvement and preservation of the criminal subculture,” said Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan, who introduced the project in September 2019.

Criminal charges can also be brought against people who turn to “thieves in law” to solve various problems.

There is little reason to doubt the bill will not pass in the next and final reading.