There Are No Clever People Like 'Thieves in Law' in the World: Vardan Ghukasian

National Assembly deputy Vardan Ghukasian of the Prosperous Armenia Party believes that there are no clever people in the world like 'thieves in law.' Ghukasian made this statement during a brief press conference with reporters in the National Assembly, responding to a proposed legislative measure that sets criminal penalties against 'thieves in law.'

"There are no clever people in the world like 'thieves in law.' I respect those individuals who maintain a proper lifestyle and stand by their compatriots. Now, what does this law say? Should we fill the prisons with all these individuals?" he stated.

According to Ghukasian, the adoption of the law could serve as a reason for innocent people to be imprisoned. He expressed that he is in favor of proving that an individual has committed a crime before proceeding to imprisonment.

He emphasized that during his years as the mayor of Gyumri (2000-2012), Gyumri was the least criminal city, as people respected him. "In the last 10 years, I haven't seen a single person from the 'thieves in law' despite being in various professional settings. During my term, if young people had issues, I would tell them to forgive each other and move on," he noted.

It is important to mention that the government had already approved a draft bill on August 29, aimed at making amendments to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. This proposes to hold individuals criminally responsible for obtaining, maintaining, or creating a higher criminal status, as well as for leading, participating in, and maintaining a criminal subculture.