During a discussion on the bill on making amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code in the second and final reading held as part of the special session of the National Assembly of Armenia today, Deputy Minister of Justice Srbuhi Galyan said the Armenian government is proposing, within the scope of the legislation on criminal procedure, to envisage the possibility of release from custody on the ground of severe illness.

The deputy minister stated that certain changes were made in the bill after the first reading and particularly informed that they were merely technical changes.

The bill provides an opportunity for a supervising prosecutor to consider the motion and make a decision to uphold or reject the motion immediately, as well as envisages the possibility of appealing the motion to court, if it is rejected by the overseeing prosecutor.

According to the deputy minister, the need for the bill is also due to the fact that three deaths were recorded at penitentiary institutions in January 2020, two of which were due to severe illnesses.