The Vayots Dzor Marz Prosecutor’s Office is doing everything possible to smooth over all the shortcomings and omissions under the current prosecutorial supervision, to ensure full, objective and comprehensive investigations. Iravaban.net conducted an interview with Vayots Dzor Marz Prosecutor Aspurak Avetisyan within the framework of the “Prosecutors of Armenia” series, talking about the situation in the region and the activities of the prosecutor.
– Mr. Avetisyan, you have been holding the position of Vayots Dzor Region Prosecutor since 2020. What are the criminal characteristic of the region, what problems would you note?
– Vayots Dzor region is not much different from other regions in terms of crime and there are no problems worth mentioning.
Over the years, the study of the criminal situation in the marz has shown that the share of property crimes is high. On the other hand, as a positive characteristic, the population of the region does not have a tendency to criminal behavior and due to the geographical location of the region, most of the reported abductions were committed by traveling people. An essential and positive feature is that the proportion of common crimes is lower than the most dangerous crimes against humanity. Although in 2021, an increase in these cases has been registered, which, however, have been fully disclosed, which is an effective guarantee to exclude the recurrence of similar cases.
– How would you assess the publicity and transparency of the work of the Prosecutor’s Office? It seems that there are not many publications about the work of the Vayots Dzor Prosecutor’s Office.
– The Vayots Dzor Regional Prosecutor’s Office may not have been active on its own initiative in publishing the results of the work carried out. However, this is due to the fact that, as a rule, there are no extraordinary or publicly significant events that need to be addressed. However, all the inquiries, which, of course, did not endanger the secrecy of the pre-trial criminal proceedings, were answered exhaustively. Besides, what is important for us is not so much publicity, taking into account the objective realities arising from the status of being a criminal prosecution body, but having and maintaining the trust of the population of the region. And from this point of view, I think the dynamics of the applications received by the Regional Prosecutor’s Office from the citizens, as well as the receptions is an important criterion. According to this, for example, if in 2020 the regional prosecutor’s office received 83 applications from citizens, then in 2021 – 110 applications, or 32% more. Out of 110 applications received, 100 referred to the spheres of prosecutorial activity, 40 applications for criminal prosecution, 57 for investigation and preliminary investigation, 2 for defense, 1 for sentencing and other coercive measures.
If 36 of the received applications were rejected, 26 provided specific clarifications, and 46 were sent to another body for discussion.
In addition, 17 citizens were admitted, which is 54% more than last year. Moreover, 14 of them were organized on the initiative of the Prosecutor to clarify the grounds and legal motives of the decision on not conducting / or terminating criminal prosecution under Article 37 of the RA Criminal Procedure Code as well as to assess the real and immediate threat to the life or health of the victim of domestic violence.
– Vayots Dzor is the region with the smallest population in Armenia. What is the situation in the Marz and what is the picture of the number of crimes and the detection rate compared to the previous year?
– 303 cases of crime were registered in Vayots Dzor Marz in 2021, as compared to 203 cases in the previous year. In other words, the number of cases has increased by 100 or 49.3%. The detection of crimes under investigation was 77.6%, compared to 70.4% in the previous year.
– After 2018, the cases of revealing crimes committed in educational institutions have increased. What is the picture in Vayots Dzor Marz?
– The detection of crimes committed in educational institutions has also increased in Vayots Dzor region since 2018. Fifteen such cases were registered in the period of 2018-2021.
Moreover, on the instruction of the RA Prosecutor General, studies on the application of corrupt mechanisms related to labor relations in the educational institutions of the republic have been started since 2019. As a result, data were obtained on the allocation of salaries or other payments in the name of the staff of the school aid positions in the general education schools operating in the region, especially on the positions of guard, laboratory assistant, cleaner, janitor, even teacher and deputy principal for different periods from 2007 to 2019, in case of non-attendance at work (from 10 days to several months) and improper performance of work responsibilities, and on the theft of these payments. Materials were prepared under the supervision of the prosecutors in charge of the proceedings, as a result of which a criminal case was initiated in 1 case, the initiation of a criminal case was rejected in 2 cases and on the grounds of expiration of the statute of limitations in 5 cases.
The total damage caused to the state in all the cases of apparent abuses amounted to 2,832,128 AMD. Former and current school principals have fully recovered the damage caused to the state.
– Government agencies are not free from corruption occurrences or risks. How do you fight against this vicious phenomenon in the regional prosecutor’s office?
There is no need to introduce special mechanisms to combat this vicious phenomenon in the regional prosecutor’s office, because the prosecutors of the regional prosecutor’s office, as pioneers in the fight against this phenomenon, consciously cannot take part in similar actions. This is a clear and principled approach for the entire prosecutorial system in general. No such cases have ever been registered in the regional prosecutor’s office, but in 2021, one case of fraud was registered in the regional criminal prosecution bodies, including one under the pretext of bribing the prosecutor’s office, which was immediately registered and processed as a result of interference of the prosecutor’s office.
– What is the rate of revealing corruption crimes in the Marz?
– 41 cases and materials being investigated by the regional criminal prosecution bodies in 2020, and 25 cases of corruption crimes were registered in 2021, that is, the number of such cases decreased by 16, and the detection of registered corruption cases was 100%.
The decrease in corruption cases is mainly due to the significant reduction in cases of embezzlement and abuse of office through the use of official position.
I should mention that the increase in the number of registered corruption crimes in 2021 was partly due to the study conducted by the by the Vayots Dzor Marz Prosecutor’s Office aimed to discuss the issue of filing a lawsuit referring to the protection of financial resources directed to the educational establishment for the implementation of the delegated powers. 21 materials were prepared based on the factual data obtained as a result.
In addition, a significant reduction in the number of corruption cases has certainly been facilitated by the study of the causes and conditions of those cases, based on materials prepared in connection with the cases registered in previous years and investigated criminal cases, and the petitions submitted to the relevant bodies based on their results. Moreover, most of the crimes registered in the reporting year were committed in previous years. In other words, the vigilance has increased significantly.
– What investigations have been carried out in the field of protection of state interests by the Regional Prosecutor’s Office, as a result of which violations have been found and what has been done in this direction?
– Within the framework of the prosecutorial function of protection of state interests, we have conducted 2 sectoral studies. They referred to the protection of state interests in the process of obligations provided by the RA legislation on subsoil and entrails use contracts in the administrative territory of Vayots Dzor region, as well as the condition of the shelters. According to the results of the investigation, no violations of state interests were found.
In addition, in 2021, two lawsuits were filed in the field of protection of state interests, on the demand to confiscate the property damage of 3,025,000 AMD caused to the state by the crime, the investigation of which has not been completed yet.
– The flow from the prosecutorial system to the field of advocacy is significant. Is there a shortage of staff in the Vayots Dzor Prosecutor’s Office or not?
– First of all, I would like to note that the flow from the prosecutorial system to advocacy or any other field has never been significant. There have always been such transfers and there is nothing extraordinary in that, because in the same way there are transfers from those spheres to the Prosecutor’s Office. The positions of prosecutors in the Vayots Dzor Region Prosecutor’s Office have been filled. None of the prosecutors in the regional prosecutor’s office left the system to practice law.
However, the workload of prosecutors is very high and the availability of additional staff would help significantly. Added to this is the fact that regional prosecutors often have to travel to Masis and Artashat to defend their charges or to hear complaints brought by participants of the trial, because, as you know, the court of the first instance is the same for Ararat and Vayots Dzor marzes. This fact cannot but affect the work dynamics. But we try to organize our daily work taking into account these technical difficulties.
– What is the practice of pre-trial detention as a criminal case under investigation in the region? The disproportionate number and justification of arrest mediations has always been considered problematic.
– By the decisions of the Board of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Armenia and the instructions of the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia, the practice of using detention as a measure of restraint and the justification of motions are kept in the center of attention. In my opinion, those who speak about the large number of motions to use detention as a measure of restraint or those who constantly question their validity do not know and cannot objectively know the factual circumstances of the case. As an annual indicator, it should be noted that out of 264 criminal cases investigated by the criminal prosecution bodies of the region in 2021, only 8 motions were submitted by investigators to choose detention as a measure of restraint, and which all were met. The number of submitted motions and their satisfaction, depending on the volume of criminal cases under investigation, at least indicates that they are incomparably small and well-founded.
– What are the relations with the investigative bodies of the Marz, to what extent is the Marz Prosecutor’s Office satisfied with the quality of the examinations? In this sense, are there many prosecutorial acts related to the annulment of the decisions made by the investigators, without confirming the indictments? What are the main problems with the quality of the investigations?
– The relations between the Regional Prosecutor’s Office, the Regional Investigation Department, as well as the Regional Police Department and subordinate departments are of a healthy working nature. There are few cases of annulment of decisions or non-confirmation of indictments, which is solely due to preliminary working discussions.
In other words, we do our best to smooth over all the shortcomings and omissions under the current prosecutorial supervision, to ensure full, objective and comprehensive investigations.
This is evidenced, for example, by the fact that in 2021, the prosecutors in charge of judicial proceedings in 20 criminal cases gave 20 written instructions, against which the investigators did not object. At the same time, this figure is about 2.5 times higher than in 2020.
Prosecutors also gave 25 instructions to the operative-investigative bodies in 25 criminal cases, which is 3 times more than in 2020. We still see the need to significantly improve this indicator and exercise the full range of prosecutorial powers in criminal proceedings. As a result, there are fewer cases of opposing to legal positions expressed by judicial documents by investigative or investigative bodies. In particular, in 2021, by the decision of the prosecutors in charge of the proceedings, 1 decision on terminating the criminal case and 1 decision on suspending the criminal case were annulled. The indictment in 2 criminal cases was not confirmed and the cases were returned to the investigator for further investigation.
The main problem with the quality of investigations is the investigation of corruption crimes. The investigation of these cases requires knowledge of the various procedures regulated by different branches of law, then the investigation of possible violations, the assessment of their criminal nature and the identification of the circle of all persons involved.
The frequent rotation of the investigators of the Marz Investigation Department, possessing the peculiarities of investigating corruption crimes and have already conducted preliminary investigations into these cases for a long time, has a negative impact on their efficiency and causes problems with the quality of investigation.
– Is there a special criminal case that has been revealed with your participation or leadership, and about which you can tell?
– As Marz prosecutor, I do not distinguish between the disclosure of criminal cases under my direct supervision and the control of other prosecutors of the Marz. Without revealing the details of the case, I can mention one case when the investigator assessed the action of a particular person as a threat to kill, and criminal proceedings were instituted under that article. However, after discussing the case with me, as a result of comparing the evidence, it became clear that according to the available factual data, it is not a threat, but a preparation for the murder of two people. After which the person was charged under that article and the criminal case was sent to court for substantive examination.
In addition, in one criminal case initiated with the feature of corruption crime and under investigation, I instructed the investigative body to find out the property amount of that official and interrelated persons as well as the way how they had obtain it. The actions taken also provided apparently information on the sale of illicit real estate by the mentioned official. A criminal case was also initiated on the mentioned fact, then the two criminal cases were joined and the preliminary investigation is in process.
Iravaban.net conducts the series of interviews in cooperation with the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Interview by Yevgenia Hambardzumyan
