From Armenia in brief: Parliament passes first reading of amendments to criminal code

Published: Saturday February 28, 2009

Davit Harutiunian, chair of the Standing Committee on State and Legal Issues of Armenia's National Assembly. Photolure

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Yerevan - On February 26, Armenia's parliament passed the first reading for amendments made to Articles 225 (mass disorders) and 300 (usurping state power) of the criminal code.

Davit Harutiunian, chair of the Standing Committee on State and Legal Issues and one of the authors of the bill, said that after the events of March 1, 2008, many international institutions, including the report by the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe Thomas Hammarberg, recommended revising certain vague articles within Armenia's criminal code.

The bill calls for voiding section 3 of Article 225, which stipulates 6-12 years of imprisonment for mass disorders resulting in killings. It proposes the addition of a section 5, which would stipulate 200,000-600,000 AMD in fines or imprisonment for up to 3 months for participants in disorders who commit no other crimes. The bill also amends section 1, on the organization and conduct of illegal public events, which stipulates responsibility for ignoring  police calls to stop the event.

The bill amends Article 300 and provides for 10-15 year imprisonment for attempting to usurp power through violence or threat of violence, as well as for seizure of the powers of the president, the speaker, the government, or the Constitutional Court.

The bill will have to go through a second reading after which it will be presented to the president to sign it into law.