The Law Against Criminal Subculture is Working: Rustam Badasyan

The Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan writes on his Facebook page: “One media outlet today published a piece titled ‘The Court Cannot Prove Who the ‘Thieves in Law’ Are’, stating that based on the law aimed at combating criminal subculture that I presented in the National Assembly, ‘the law enforcement system cannot prove in court who the ‘thieves in law’ or criminal figures are, in order to punish them.’

I would like to remind the author of this publication that this is not the first case of the application of this law. Just months ago, incidentally, the same newspaper published about an individual with the highest status in the criminal hierarchy being detained by the NSS on reasonable suspicion of creating and leading a group carrying a criminal subculture, who, a few days later, had been arrested as a result of the application of this law when the reasonable suspicion was substantiated.

Therefore, this law is indeed functioning in practice, and the criticisms raised during the legislative phase that it would not work in practice were unfounded. Today, when there has been a case where the court did not find sufficient evidence to apply the pre-trial measure of detention regarding the affiliation with the criminal subculture, without understanding or delving into the details of the case, the media is making accusations that the law is not working.

I appreciate the media’s concentrated focus on the realm of justice, yet I advise being more attentive when listening to the whispers of certain individuals fighting against reforms. The law has had very little time for practical application, although it has already become clear that there are no issues at the legislative level; it draws upon international experience, and there are no obstacles at that level. I am confident that there will be new revelations in the near future.”