Amnesty will be declared in case of agreement between government and prisoners

PanARMENIAN.Net - Former speaker of the Armenian National Assembly, member of the Armenian National Congress Karapet Rubinyan thinks that possible announcement of amnesty "is the result of Europe's pressure."



Amnesty is a trick the Armenian government wants to play to prove that "we are a democracy," according to him.



"I press for release of all political prisoners. Some of them are my friends, who will to all appearance bring a suit against the government after discharge," Rubinyan said.



For his part, MP Rafik Petrosyan assured that amnesty is a public need. "This is a consequence of social and political changes," he said. "Amnesty was last declared in June 7, 2006. Some 2000 prisoners were released."



At that he noted that amnesty will be declared only in case of agreement between the government and prisoners. "If the legal proceedings are not over and there is no verdict, the accused can refuse to plead guilty and go at large," he said.