Policy Brief

Closing the Accountability Gap: The Need to Criminalize Torture-Like Violence within the Armed Forces under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia

The analysis of 51 criminal cases examined in Armenian courts in 2020-2025 reveals persistent patterns of physical and psychological abuse within the Armed Forces of Armenia, including systematic humiliation, coercion, and violence occurring both between peers and within hierarchical relationships, in some cases preceding suicide.

Despite the severity of these acts, they were overwhelmingly prosecuted under Articles 519–521 as ordinary military violence, with widespread use of accelerated proceedings, suspended sentences, and termination of proceedings. The findings indicate a structural failure to examine whether such conduct meets the threshold of torture or other forms of ill-treatment under international law and domestic Criminal Code.

This policy brief argues that Armenia should amend Chapter 46 of the Criminal Code (“Crimes against Military Service”) to introduce a specific crime addressing violence committed by service members that intentionally inflicts severe physical or mental pain or suffering for prohibited purposes.

Such amendments would strengthen compliance with Armenia’s international obligations, improve the adequacy of legal responses to serious abuses within the armed forces, and reinforce the preventive function of justice.