Armenia does not plan to announce an amnesty in the near future. The statement was made by Justice Minister Srbuhi Galyan, who presented the situation in the penitentiary system and the ministry’s current priorities.
According to Galyan, around 2,845 inmates are held in Armenia’s penitentiary institutions today. In recent months, a rise in pre-trial detention has become a concern. At certain points, detainees made up 60% of the prison population, while convicted prisoners accounted for only 40%. This ratio has now returned to balance.
Galyan reminded that in 2014–2016 the number of inmates reached up to 4,000 people. Today the load is much lower, mainly due to the introduction of alternative preventive measures since 2021, such as house arrest and administrative supervision.
Detention Criteria Will Be Developed, but Amnesty Will Not Happen
The Ministry of Justice is working in two directions.
First, it aims to develop unified criteria for applying detention.
Second, it plans to improve the system of early conditional release.
The legislative package has already been finalized and will soon move into circulation.
Galyan stressed, however, that no amnesty is expected, and the government has not planned such a political decision.
“No amnesty has been announced since 2018. Right now, there is no clear need for it. A situation requiring an amnesty may emerge in the future, but this moment has not arrived,” she said.
The minister added that amnesty has strict limitations. People released under amnesty cannot be assessed properly in terms of resocialization, which increases risks and can lead to additional problems.
Individual Assessment Instead of a Blanket Amnesty
One of the key reasons for not considering an amnesty is the lack of individual evaluation.
“People returning to society after an amnesty are not checked to determine whether they have actually resocialized. This leads to many problematic cases,” Galyan explained.
The ministry is therefore developing a system of individualized decisions. Each inmate will be evaluated based on behavior, rehabilitation potential, and readiness for reintegration.