Has the pardon already been granted? Arpine Hovhannisyan on Enokyan's case

Former Vice Speaker of the National Assembly Arpine Hovhannisyan expresses confusion on her Facebook page as to why information regarding the pardon process for Mher Enokyan has not been made public.

In particular, she writes:

“As you recall, a few days ago I organized a survey on whether the public should have the right to receive information about the pardon process at any stage. The overwhelming majority's opinion was that such an opportunity should be created.

Today, a statement has been released from the Presidential Administration stating that President Armen Sarkissian has not received any proposal from Prime Minister concerning the pardon for Mher Enokyan, who is serving a life sentence. By combining all the information received, it can be concluded that during the period of December 20-25, 2018, the pardon commission presented a conclusion regarding the pardon request to the Prime Minister.

According to existing regulations, the Prime Minister must present a proposal to the President regarding granting or denying the pardon no later than fifteen days after receiving the commission's conclusion. I believe the stipulated deadlines have already expired, and a question arises as to why no proposal has been submitted to the President during that period. Is it due to public criticism causing a previously made decision not to be forwarded to the President, or do we simply have a case of usual inaction, as no decision has been made within the required timeframe?

The current situation once again demonstrates the necessity of publishing information regarding the pardon process, as we cannot even monitor whether the public official is fulfilling their obligations within the legally established deadlines or not.”