21 January 2020, 21:40
Armenian parliament approves toughening of punishment for bringing to suicide in army
Members of the National Assembly of Armenia passed a bill introducing to the Armenian Criminal Code the special articles on bringing to suicide in the army. The maximum punishment for the above mentioned crime was increased from 5 to 14 years of imprisonment.
A stricter punishment for bringing to suicide was initiated by the faction of the "Prosperous Armenia" Party. Human rights defenders interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" state that in order to stop the suicides of soldiers in Armenia, it is necessary to make officers responsible for bullying in their units, to increase the number of women in the army, and to create a monitoring group to control the situation.
According to the Prosecutor's Office of Armenia, in 2019, the number of suicides in the armies of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh amounted to 7, compared to 11 in 2018, i.e. decreased by 36.4%.
Prior to the introduction of amendments, the Criminal Code of Armenia contained no special articles on suicides in the army.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 21, 2020 at 03:11 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Tigran Petrosyan Source: CK correspondent
