Convictions in Cases of Illegal Logging

According to a summary conducted by the Lori region prosecutor's office, during 2019, there were 243 cases of illegal logging recorded in the region, of which 94 resulted in criminal cases being initiated. For comparison, in 2018, 63 criminal cases were initiated for similar offenses, which is a decrease of 31 or 49.2%.

The quality of the investigations into these cases has improved. In 2019 alone, 38 criminal cases concerning various articles of Article 296 of the RA Criminal Code were sent to court, involving 40 individuals, while in 2018, only 10 criminal cases involving 10 individuals were sent to court. This indicates an increase of 28 cases or 280%, and an increase of 30 individuals or 300%.

Moreover, there was also a significant increase in the number of completed criminal cases in court during the report period. Specifically, out of the criminal cases examined in court, 27 concluded with guilty verdicts involving 29 individuals, compared to 7 criminal cases involving 7 individuals concluded in 2018. This constitutes an increase of nearly four times.

It should be noted that during 2019, prosecutors within the Lori region prosecutor's office discovered damage to nature amounting to approximately 322 million AMD in criminal cases under their procedural management or supervision during investigation and trial phases, exceeding the 2018 figure by 12.5%. Recoveries amounted to 3 million AMD, which is double compared to 2018. Seizures have been placed on the movable and immovable properties of the accused for the unrecovered amounts, with further investigations still ongoing.

The positive statistics regarding the detection of environmental violations are also attributed to the thoroughness of investigations ensured by the consistent exercise of prosecutorial functions. Prosecutors conducting procedural management for each criminal case concerning illegal logging pay special attention to the possible involvement of responsible officials in forest management.

For instance, by studying the materials related to two criminal cases investigated under part 3 of Article 296 of the RA Criminal Code, the supervising prosecutor established that in one instance, officials of the “Lalvar Forest Enterprise” branch of “Hayantar” SNCO, and in another case, officials of the “Dsegh Forest Enterprise” branch, exhibited careless and negligent attitudes towards their duties, leading unidentified individuals to conduct large-scale illegal logging that resulted in substantial damage to flora, specifically, 5.6 million AMD in the first case and 23 million AMD in the second.

Criminal cases have also been initiated under part 2 of Article 315 of the RA Criminal Code, and investigations are ongoing. These examples are not isolated. Overall, during the specified period, six criminal cases concerning corruption related to illegal logging have been initiated, most of which fall under parts 2 and 3 of Articles 315 and 308 of the RA Criminal Code. Charges have been brought against officials at the “Eghegnut Forest Enterprise,” specifically the forest ranger and the forest warden of the 4th section of the “Lalvar Forest Enterprise.” Two criminal cases with a corruption element related to illegal logging have been sent to court involving three individuals, with proceedings underway.

In court concerning officials managing forest resources, prosecutors are requesting additional penalties alongside the main punishments, such as disqualification from holding certain positions or engaging in specific activities.