As previously reported, in the course of studying the materials of criminal cases under the management or control of Shirak Prosecutor’s Office, as well as prosecutor’s control over Legality of Penalties and Other Means of Compulsion, cases of illegal trafficking in prohibited items, in particular, means of communication, have been discovered in Artik penitentiary institution , in particular, means of communication. This created favorable conditions for imprisoned persons to plan and commit crimes. In particular, the preliminary investigation of 7 criminal cases initiated in 2018 and being in the process of investigation showed that in all cases the persons who had been arrested in the Artik penitentiary institution had committed crimes using means of communication. A lot of other similar criminal cases have been recorded, in which the preliminary investigation has been completed or the proceedings have been terminated.
As a result of a search conducted at the Artik penitentiary institution , 196 cell phones, 77 types of accessories, and 11 WiFi devices have been found. As a result, 224 arrested and convicted persons have been subject to disciplinary punishments, some of them not for the first time. It turned out that in a number of cases, cell phones and SIM cards got to the convicts and prisoners by means of transfers or during dates, and this indicates that a personal search after meetings was often of a formal nature or was not carried out at all.
Considering the need for a criminal legal assessment of the actions of the staff of the Artik penitentiary institution through a full, objective and multilateral investigation, by the decision of the senior prosecutor of the prosecutor's office of Shirak region, it has been decided to initiate a criminal case on the grounds of p. 1 art. 315 of the RA Criminal Code.
The preliminary investigation has been entrusted to the Investigation Department of Shirak region of the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia.
Note: Every person suspected in or charged with a criminal offense shall be presumed innocent unless proved guilty in the manner prescribed by the RA Criminal Procedure Code and unless the verdict comes into legal force.
