YEREVAN. – It is proposed to declare amnesty for male citizens who have avoided military service and are suspected of committing a crime under Section 1 of Article 327 of the Criminal Code. Deputy Minister of Justice Armen Hovhannisyan said this during the discussion of the respective bill at Tuesday’s session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia (RA).

According to him, the Armenian government has decided to declare amnesty.

“In particular, the bill proposes to grant amnesty to 27-year-olds, and reservist officers over the age of 35 who have avoided military or alternative service, training camps or conscription until September 26, 2020, those suspected, accused or convicted of committing the crime envisaged under Article 327 of the RA Criminal Code, and those who will voluntarily return to the republic and go to the investigative bodies by December 31, 2021," Hovhannisyan explained.

The draft law proposes also to declare amnesty and release from sentence those who have previously been sentenced to imprisonment, those whose sentence was not applied conditionally, or whose sentence has been postponed, and those who have been sentenced to a non-custodial sentence.

"It is also proposed to declare amnesty and stop serving the sentence for those released on parole," the deputy minister concluded.

According to the latest police data, this amnesty will apply to 5,433 people.