Wednesday, May 20 2020 16:41

ArmInfo. Deputy Minister of Defense of Armenia Gabriel Balayan is convinced of the severity of punishments provided for crimes committed in the army.

 Thus, in an interview with reporters, answering the question, does he see the  need to toughen the punishment for crimes in the army, especially  against the background of continuing cases of deaths under unclear  circumstances, Balayan stated that they are already extremely strict.  According to him, this becomes obvious when you draw parallels  between the prescribed punishments for the same act committed by   military and civilians.

At the same time, he stated that not so long ago, on the proposal of  MP Naira Zohrabyan, the punishment for bringing to suicide in the  Armed Forces was tightened.  He also assured that all perpetrators of  crimes are punished to the fullest extent of the law, despite the  fact that sometimes information is not published for security  purposes, since the enemy follows every news.  At the same time, he  assured that everything was being done to reduce and eliminate  similar incidents in the armed forces.  Balayan added that there is  no such armed forces in the world where such incidents do not happen. 

"I'm not saying that this is normal. But no one is safe from such  incidents. Even the best armies in the world, including the Armenian  one," said the deputy defense minister of Armenia, while not agreeing  that the mentality has not changed and this is the reason of the  incidents.  According to him, the mentality of young people has  changed, but there is still work to do: from tightening control to  improving the professionalism of staff and their moral and  psychological state.  Balayan also believes that it is not necessary  to look for gaps in the law by which these crimes can be justified,  it is necessary to ensure strict observance of the charter.

"I also rule out that such incidents are caused by climate of  impunity in the army. This is simply out of the question," the deputy  defense minister said, adding that there is no need to avoid leaders  in the Armed Forces, as the rest servicemen will follow these leaders  during the hostilities.  To note,  the latest  incident occurred in  the Artsakh Armed Forces yesterday. A conscript soldier was found at  a combat post with a gunshot wound in the head area. A criminal case  was initiated under Part 1 of Article 104 of the RA Criminal Code  (murder) by the IC of Armenia