“THEY ARE READY TO DO THEIR BEST TO AVOID RESPONSIBILITY, IF NECESSARY -TO ACCUSE THE INNOCENT”

‘In 2006 the courts inflicted obviously moderate sentences’, Gagik Jhangiryan, Deputy Prosecutor General said during the sitting of the board of the prosecutor general’s office. He also added that they would not submit to that fact. “Why do those in the Office of Public Prosecutor complain of the punitive measures fixed by the courts”, asks Chairman of RA Chamber of Advocacy Rouben Sahakyan and adds: “Yes, sometimes judges impose moderate sentences, but it is strange why they do not speak of frequently inflicted stiff punishments”. According to him, there is a fact in Armenia, when a moderate punishment is imposed and no complaint is made to the superior court for making more severe the punishment, it means that the prosecutor agrees with the punitive measure, even if the verdict is unfair.

Rouben Sahakyan says that the answer to this question here is the following: either the both parties have come to mutual agreement or there is a personal and other interest or manifestation of corruption exists. “And if there is not an agreement, then the prosecutor often complains of the moderateness of the sentence”, says the head of the chamber of advocacy.

From his point of view, it is very easy to imagine for us, the citizens of this country: “The corruption exists both in the courts and in the prosecutor’s office, and sometimes advocates take their part in it”. According to his deep conviction, in this society nobody is ready to fulfill justice, neither the courts nor the investigators nor prosecutors and the advocates. “Every one is ready to do his best to avoid responsibility or if it is necessary - to accuse the innocent. If they want to seize a business from anybody, then they are ready to accuse him, if they want to harm anybody, so they can give false testimony or evidence”.