Armenia has no political prisoners, Justice Minister Srbuhi Galyan said during a press briefing in parliament. Citing international standards, she challenged the basis of such accusations.
“There is no question when someone commits a criminally punishable act. It’s convenient to justify actions that match articles of the Criminal Code with the claim that the person is politically active, hence, a political prisoner. I believe, and happily so, that we have no political prisoners in our country, and I say this based on the international standards you cite,” said Galyan, according to Pastinfo.
Asked whether imprisoning people for months over expressions like “Our Way” could be considered political, she declined to comment, as reported by Sputnik Armenia.
Galyan said that the Justice Ministry is only involved in the execution of pretrial detention measures and has no role in their issuance.
She disagreed with journalists’ suggestions that selective justice is being practiced, for instance, in cases where mayors of Vagharshapat and Gyumri are both accused of corruption, yet only one is detained.
“Courts are independent. Each court decides which preventive measure to apply. If we go through history, we’ll find members of the ruling party who were detained and convicted. I support consistent standards and predictability in justice across the country. We are working as a ministry in that direction, but whether courts follow these standards is beyond my control,” Galyan said.
She added that, from a policy perspective, she would prefer fewer people be detained in Armenia.
Galyan acknowledged the frequent use of pretrial detention as an issue but ruled out any political motivations by judges in their decisions.
