The RA Prosecutor's Office and its territorial subdivisions, in close cooperation with other bodies of criminal prosecution, continue a consistent criminal-legal fight against illegal logging.
The Prosecutor's Office of Lori region studied the state of criminal violations, registered regarding illegal cutting of trees in the administrative territory of the region and the legality of measures taken in this regard during the first half of 2020.
During the mentioned period, as a result of the operational-search measures taken by the subdivisions of the Department of Lori region of the RA Police and the activities of the relevant employees of ''Hayantar'' SNCO were recorded 155 cases of illegal tree cutting. From these cases, by 65 were initiated criminal cases, and this number is by 35% more than the number for the same period of the last year (48 cases).
This increase is due to a significant improvement in the quality of supervision over the activities of officials responsible for forests and forestry, and improvement pf registration of cases of illegal forest cutting.
By cases that are at the stage of preliminary investigation under the procedural lead of the prosecutors of the Prosecutor's Office of Lori region, the primary importance is given to the restoration of the damage caused to nature and the state. In particular, the damage inflicted to the state by the cases of illegal cutting of trees, registered on the basis of materials within the framework of which the initiation of a case was refused during the specified period, amounted to 2.336.800 AMD. With the requirement to recover the specified amount, the prosecutors of the Prosecutor's Office of Lori region offered the state body with the competence of filing a claim to submit an appropriate claim within a reasonable timeframe. And the damage inflicted to the state by the cases of illegal cutting of trees, registered by the initiated and investigated criminal cases, amounted to 225.916.320 AMD. Measures are being taken in the direction of their restoration.
The positive indicator of disclosing cases of environmental criminal offenses is essentially conditioned by the criminal policy adopted by the RA Prosecutor's Office in order to make the circumstances of possible corruption involvement of officials responsible for forests a compulsory subject for consideration.
In particular, as a result of the unfair or negligent attitude towards the service by the competent officials of the Hayantar SNCO regarding non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of their duties, the prosecutors of the Prosecutor's Office of Lori region initiated 7 criminal cases. Within the framework of these cases, the damage caused to the state as a result of the unfair or negligent attitude towards the service by the competent officials amounted to 218.691.500 AMD. The indicated criminal cases are in the process of preliminary investigation, 1 criminal case with an indictment was sent to the court.
The Prosecutor's Office of Lori region for the first half of 2020 compared with the same period of the last year, carried out significant work in the context of forwarding to court criminal cases with indictments, initaited regarding illegal cutiing of trees and defense of the charge. If for the first half of 2019, 8 criminal cases concerning 8 people were sent to the court, then during the specified period of 2020, 20 criminal cases concerning 20 people or by 150% more were sent to the court.
The court investigated and completed 15 criminal cases regarding 15 people, which is compared with the same period of 2019 (6 cases against 6 people) again is more by 150%.
The amount of compensation for damage caused to the state by cases of illegal logging recorded within the framework of completed criminal cases amounted to 4.476.080 AMD, part of which was restored, and with the requirement to recover the the rest of the amount, the prosecutors of the Prosecutor's Office of Lori Region offered the state body with the competence of filing a claim to submit an appropriate claim within a reasonable timeframe.
