«Joghourd». Law Enforcement System Fails to Prove in Court Who Are the 'Thieves in Law' or Criminal Authorities to Punish

As Justice Minister Rustam Badasyan assured a year ago in parliament that through amendments and additions to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, they could fight against 'thieves in law', criminal authorities, and, in general, against criminal subculture, today the law enforcement system is unable to prove in court who these 'thieves in law' or criminal authorities are in real life to punish them.

It should be noted that the amendment to that law envisaged criminal liability for obtaining, maintaining, or establishing a higher status within the criminal hierarchy, for creating or leading a grouping with a criminal subculture, and for participating or getting involved in a grouping that carries a criminal subculture.

Recently, the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia has made grand announcements regarding the disclosure of various cases related to 'thieves in law'. However, 'thief in law' Alon and criminal authority Tiz have not been detained, as the investigator, according to 'Joghourd' newspaper sources, has been unable to prove in court why these individuals are considered to be part of the criminal subculture and what their crime is. For this reason, they have been released on legal grounds.

It turns out that the law exists, but it hasn’t been applied as initially foreseen,” the newspaper writes.