‘Zhamanak’: MPs May Soon Have Unrestricted Access to Inmates

‘Zhamanak’ newspaper reports that the Armenian government has decided to address the long-standing issue regarding the restrictions imposed by prison officials on parliamentarians' visits to inmates.

The 48th article of the law on the detention of arrested and imprisoned individuals is titled: “Unrestricted access to places of detention.” This article lists the officials who are granted unrestricted access to detention facilities, but it does not clearly address the right to meet with inmates. In previous administrations, this ambiguity has been frequently used as a basis to deny MPs visits with detainees or imprisoned individuals.

The Ministry of Justice proposes to fill this gap by adding a provision stating: “Visits with arrested or imprisoned persons by individuals listed in the second paragraph of article 48 of this law cannot be prohibited, unless these individuals are involved as participants or witnesses in the respective criminal case.”

For further details, refer to today’s issue of the newspaper.