Armenia intends to criminalize calls and actions to renounce its sovereignty

YEREVAN, March 1. /ARKA/. Armenia's National Assembly has passed today in the first reading a set of amendments to the Criminal Code, which criminalize actions aimed at renouncing or restricting, fully or partially, the country's sovereignty by using or threatening to use violence.

According to Deputy Justice Minister Levon Balyan, public calls for renunciation of sovereignty will also be criminalized.

Under the proposed changes, violent actions aimed at limiting Armenia’s sovereignty “in favor of another state or international or supranational organization” would be punishable by prison sentences of between 10 and 15 years, while public calls from a fine to up to 3 years of imprisonment.

If the calls were made through mass media or using an information technology, the punishment would be imprisonment of 2 to 5 years.

How, as MPs noted in their remarks, it does not follow from the amendments that calls to renounce sovereignty must also be accompanied by violent actions or the threat of violence, while Balyan noted this circumstance in his answers to the deputies' questions.

These concerns were voiced not only by opposition, but also pro-government MPs, who several times asked the deputy minister to clarify this provision, however, the latter could not give an example of what exactly is meant by a public call accompanied by violence.

In the course of the discussion, the pro-government MPs said the proposed changes should be elaborated before the second and final reading.-0-