Treat minor criminals with care
Robberies in Armenia are mainly committed by minors, according to Civil Society Institute's report released today.
From March 1 to September 15, the Institute studied 45 criminal cases with minors' involvement at the courts in Yerevan, Vanadzor and Gyumri.
"There are no specialized courts and judges in Armenia. There is no subdivision specializing in minors' cases at the prosecutor's office," lawyer for Civil Society Institute NGO Tatevik Gharibyan told "A1+".
Gharibyan assures that the law provides the opportunity to apply an alternative punishment to imprisonment for minors.
"The judge should have a private talk with the culprit in advanace and take the circumstances of the minors' families into account," Tatevik Gharibyan says.
Lawyer Inessa Petrosyan assures that according to the existing legislation, the minor should be interrogated in the presence of the attorney regardless of whether the minor is a culprit or eyewitness. "However, there are cases when they are taken and give explanations without the participation of an attorney and legal representative," Inessa Petrosyan says.
She referred to many cases when minors have been forced to confess and give testimonies without an attorney. "They trick the minors, saying the latter won't send them to prison if they confess and give testimonies. The child is forced to give the testimony that the investigators want, but that is a huge violation from the angle of the protection of rights."
Judge Elizaveta Danielyan agreed with the views expressed during the discussion. According to her, all judges should treat the minors that have committed crimes as their children, not as criminals.
