Efforts Against 'Thieves in Law' are Quite Effective, Says Badanyan

The fight against 'thieves in law' has been quite effective, but there is still much to be done. This was stated by Armenia's Minister of Justice Rustam Badanyan in response to a question from Sputnik Armenia regarding whether there are still privileged individuals in penal institutions.

We previously reported that on September 5, mass disturbances occurred at the Nubarashen penitentiary following Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's reference to prison conditions, noting that there are individuals in Armenia's prisons who continue to live under privileged conditions.

“We are conducting a consistent fight against those with privileged status in prisons. We have already developed a strategy for establishing the rule of law in penitentiaries, which we will soon present for government approval,” said the minister.

In response to a question about whether the fight against 'thieves in law' is successful, Badanyan replied that law enforcement agencies are working daily in this regard. He noted that penitentiaries have recently issued statements revealing the identification of new cases related to the smuggling of prohibited items and drug infiltration attempts.

“On the other hand, law enforcement does not specifically combat criminal authorities but takes steps within the framework of fighting crime. They are not specifically targeting criminal authorities,” he stated.

It should be noted that during the disturbances at the Nubarashen penitentiary, several detainees and convicted individuals in the third and fourth sections began to strike the doors and feeding hatches of the cells based on the orders of 'zone watchers', breaking them. They also threw burning objects from the cells into the prison security area, causing a fire to break out in the grassy area.

A criminal case has been initiated at the prosecutor's office of the Erebuni and Nubarashen administrative districts regarding the mass disturbances.