REPORT The Impact of “COVID-19” Pandemic on the Selection Practice of Imprisonments in the Republic of Armenia”

“The Protection of Rights without Borders” NGO has conducted an examination on the topic “The Impact of “COVID-19” Pandemic on the Selection Practice of Imprisonments under the Pandemic conditions in the Republic of Armenia”.

The procedures and the peculiarities of the counteraction of the criminal justice to the COVID-19 in the Republic of Armenia were examined, highlighting the practice of applying alternative detention measures and other punishment types.

The practice of early conditional release was especially highlighted in the Report; the numerical data of the released prisoners were compared and analyzed before the COVID-19 pandemic. The numerical indicators on the application of imprisonments by the courts of the Republic of Armenia within the period of 2018-2020 have been examined in the scope of the Report.

The Report consists of the following 4 main sections.

• The practice of the application of imprisonment measure during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Armenia.
• The cost effectiveness of the imprisonment and not-imposing imprisonment measures
• He Feedbacks, Strategies, Demands and Recommendations Issued by the International Community on Prison Systems Conditioned by COVID-19 Pandemic
• Brief conclusions and recommendations

The Report was elaborated by criminal justice expert Arshak Gasparyan in the scope of the Project on “Examination of the Detention Practices during the “COVID-19” Pandemic and Support to the Maintenance of International Criteria of Human Rights” implemented by the Protection of Rights without Borders NGO.

The Project is implemented with the financial support of Open Society Foundations – Armenia Office.

Summary․The Impact of Covid -19 on the Practice of Using Imprisonment in Armenia