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A lot of problems will he solved thanks to the draft constitutional amendments adopted in the December 6 referendum in Armenia, Justice Minister Arpine Hovhannisyan told a press conference today.

“There is justice in Armenia, but there are obviously also some problems in this regard. Each of you, and not only the minister of justice, bears responsibility for the establishment of justice,” she said.

Commenting on the problems raised by the life-termers and their relatives, A. Hovhannisyan said that within the scope of its competence the ministry responds to problems related to prison visits and the conditions in which inmates are kept. 

In her words, there are a number of issues related to conditional early release, and an independent interdepartmental commission is working on those issues.

When asked if there are political prisoners in Armenia, the minister replied that the Parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has adopted a number of resolutions that set criteria of political prisoners.   “No prisoner in Armenia meets those criteria,” Arpine Hovhannisyan said.

As was reported, this year life-termers in Nubarashen prison of Armenian Justice Ministry have gone on hunger strikes several times. They demanded revision of their cases.