President of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Arayik Haroutyunyan has posted the following on his Facebook page:

“Dear compatriots, taking into consideration the coronavirus situation and taking advantage of the right reserved for the President of Artsakh by the Constitution, I have undertaken procedures for amnesty and pardon.

I will be submitting the bill on declaring amnesty to the National Assembly soon and will propose to make it apply to persons suspected of, charged with or sentenced for certain crimes committed prior to July 1, 2020.

P.S.: I launched discussions on this humanitarian act after paying a visit to a penitentiary institution along with the Ombudsman and Chief of Police of Artsakh on June 13.”