“Kocharyan was a judge”
Advocate Avetik Ishkhanyan says the demand of prisoners sentenced to death is fair. They have appealed to Serzh Sargsyan to revise their verdicts and make them correspond to the amendments in the RA Criminal Code, that is, to turn the death sentencing to a 15-20-year imprisonment.
"They have the right to demand the revision of their cases. As to what method will be used, that is their problem," the advocate said.
The prisoners sentenced to life in prison decided to start a hunger strike today, but until then, they were demanding a meeting with Serzh Sargsyan's representative.
"To be honest, I would truly like to see that demand be fulfilled," Avetik Ishkhanyan said.
In 2003, Armenia lifted the death penalty, and prisoners sentenced to death were granted pardon by Robert Kocharyan's decree and their imprisonment was replaced by a death sentencing.
"Did Kocharyan have the right to pardon and then sentence them? Apparently, he took on the role of a judge," Avetik Ishkhanyan said, adding that "if the court revised their cases after the pardon, in that case, the death sentencing is crueler than the sentencing of 15-20 years in prison in the case of granting pardon to the prisoner sentenced to death according to the previous criminal code."
The advocate also sees a problem with the amendment made in the Criminal Code last year. Whereas people sentenced under the article of murder used to be sentenced to 15 years or life in prison, now there is an interim time in prison.
"Isn't it logical that people had been sentenced without a decision?" the advocate asked.
According to Avetik Ishkhanyan, the law has a restrictive force for prisoners sentenced to 15 years and a mitigating force for those sentenced to life in prison.
