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The President Invited A Meeting On The Issues Related To The Pretria

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  • The President Invited A Meeting On The Issues Related To The Pretria

    THE PRESIDENT INVITED A MEETING ON THE ISSUES RELATED TO THE PRETRIAL INVESTIGATION OF CRIMINAL CASES

    http://www.president.am/en/press-release/item/2012/10/29/President-Serzh-Sargsyan-meeting-prosecutor-office/
    29.10.2012

    Today, President Serzh Sargsyan invited a meeting at the RA
    Prosecutor's Office with the participation of the representatives of
    the law enforcement bodies. The meeting was dedicated to the issues
    related to the pretrial investigation of criminal cases.

    Underscoring at the beginning of the meeting that successful resolution
    of the pretrial investigation issues is conditioned mainly by the
    proper implementation of the exceptional functions of the procurator's
    supervision, the President of Armenia along with mentioning observable
    positive changes in the activities of the public prosecutor's office
    related to the fight against certain crimes, harshly criticized
    still existing negative occurrences which are taking place because
    of negligence or actions with underlying evil intentions by some of
    the prosecutors.

    "Overall, the prosecutor's office remains among those state structures
    which are able to demonstrate in their activities small but still
    certain positive results. It is proved, in particular, by progress
    noted by the international structures in our fight against money
    laundering and trafficking. Success has also been registered
    in the cooperation with other law enforcement bodies aimed at
    the strengthening of the legal structure. Works of the Military
    Prosecutor's Office has also shown definite improvement.

    Examples like these prove once again that diligent and honest
    prosecutors, who present a considerable number in this structure,
    realize the mission assumed before the society and the state and
    carry out that mission conscientiously.

    However I should also note that negligence or evil intentions of some
    prosecutors still remain a problem and, unfortunately, do not meet a
    proper judgment. I would like to remind that during the last December
    meeting while discussing issues related to the quality of pretrial
    investigation and efficiency of the procurator's supervision, this
    problem was particularly emphasized and it was proposed to undertake
    effective measures to fight it. Although some steps have been taken on
    this direction including persecution of those guilty, the extent of
    the negative occurrences has not subsided. One special conclusion is
    that some individuals simply didn't draw lessons from all this. They
    didn't draw lessons because inside the prosecutor's office I don't
    see resolute struggle against these happenings.

    It is obvious that during the pretrial investigation, the prosecutor
    has a serious role to play; the representatives of the pretrial
    bodies are here and you all understand quite well that in this process
    everyone has a share of responsibility.

    In this short period of time, after going through the complaints and
    appeals received from the citizens, the Presidential Staff conducted
    an inspection and revealed in the pretrial practices facts which
    are simply inconsistent with sound logic. As if it's not enough that
    instead of revealing facts related to the criminal case, the officials
    in charge have been changing the circumstances of the crime by passing
    off certain facts, they also have been patronizing the criminalize
    and covering up the crimes. Furthermore, in some instances unrelated
    persons have been charged for crimes. I cannot imagine a fouler or a
    more wicked deed on behalf of a person who works in a law enforcement
    establishment. Today, we will hear of these facts.

    Only a two- or three-months long investigation of your activities
    has revealed that, for instance,

    with the connivance of a prosecutor, a number of persons incriminated
    in a crime have become witnesses; and sometimes not with just
    connivance but through his direct participation,

    ~U instead of fighting crimes, a prosecutor himself conducts crimes and
    becomes a wanted person. And it looks like nobody is held responsible
    for that - neither his immediate boss, nor other officials at the
    prosecutor's office who ex officio have the responsibility to conduct
    supervision of the prosecutor's activities,

    ~U next, instead of supervising the execution of justice, they engage
    in a squabble with a representative of another law enforcement body
    in an unacceptably insolent manner, even though I assume a "squabble"
    is not the proper word in this case. The police employee has been
    invited through his boss's order to the office and was slapped,
    i.e. beaten up. And I have to personally interfere to make sure that
    that particular person is not only charged with criminal offence but
    also is fired from the prosecutor's office. If a prosecutor assumes
    that he can conduct a lynching, what can a prosecutor demand from
    others?

    ~U next, appearing in a situation inconsistent with the prosecutor's
    position, he enjoys impunity, i.e. if a prosecutor engages in a street
    fight, understandably after the fact a criminal case is filed and later
    with the engagement of a non-existent witness through all thinkable
    and unthinkable means everything is done to try another person.

    There is a criminal, wicked trend while working on criminal case
    all of a sudden to claim a necessity to unearth the circumstances
    of a 15-year old case. The tax bodies are instructed to examine the
    activities for the last fifteen years. Hundreds of individuals must be
    cross-examined when it is absolutely immaterial for that particular
    case. And this is justified by the need to conduct a comprehensive,
    inclusive investigation. What's in it? Go, solve the crime.

    And these are only some of the registered cases. Can anyone explain to
    me how can such atmosphere exist in a law enforcement body? It simply
    means that some have become too haughty. If a prosecutor's deputy in a
    marz believes that he can get away with it, I cannot think otherwise,"
    the President of Armenia said.

    The participants of the meeting were familiarized with the findings
    of the RA Presidential Staff regarding the practical issues in the
    pretrial investigation of criminal cases. Presented objective data
    and their comprehensive examination allowed to conclude that:

    ~U those officials responsible for the pretrial investigation of
    criminal cases do not execute in a proper fashion or do not execute
    at all their judicial powers,

    ~U in the course of investigating grave or the gravest crimes, the
    requirement of a comprehensive, inclusive and objective investigation
    is being infringed,

    ~U as a result, problems outlined by the RA Criminal Trial Code
    are solved insufficiently - persons charged for crimes do not carry
    criminal responsibility, innocent persons are being charged guilty and
    unnecessarily are being subjected to the restriction of their rights,

    ~U those officials, who allow violations in the course of
    their professional activities, are not subjected to appropriate
    responsibility and may stay unpunished,

    ~U those directly engaged in the law enforcement activities do not
    demonstrate initiatives related to the development of the measures
    aimed at the improvement of their performance and enhancement of
    their efficiency.

    Considering the nature of the registered problems and associated
    consequences, the President of Armenia gave specific instructions to
    the concrete officials aimed at the addressing the situation.

    At the conclusion of the meeting, Serzh Sargsyan underscored that he
    expects considerate attitude on behalf of the RA Prosecutor General,
    his Deputies, those responsible for investigations. "I demand
    principled stance from you all. Each one must be responsible and it
    must be registered.

    Based on the results demonstrated in the first three months of 2012,
    we will speak again about the quality of investigations and concrete
    facts," President Serzh Sargsyan underscored.

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