The rise in the number of crimes in Armenia last year was due to the proper statistical calculations by relevant authorities, not regression in this sector. This is what Minister of Justice of Armenia Rustam Badasyan said during a discussion on the report on the course of implementation and outcomes of the Program of the Government of the Republic of Armenia approved by Decision No 65-A of the Government of February 8, 2019 held as part of the session of the Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs of the National Assembly, responding to deputy of the Bright Armenia faction Taron Simonyan’s question about the rise in the number of crimes in 2019.

“You probably remember that quite a lot of people were released from penitentiary institutions after the large-scale amnesty declared last year, and this led to an increase in the number of crimes. This might have had an impact on the statistics in this short period of time, but I believe it didn’t have a considerable impact,” Badasyan declared.