Artak Zeynalyan participates in event entitled "Creative imprisonment"

On 27 October, Acting Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia Artak Zeynalyan participated in the event entitled "Creative imprisonment", which took place at Sergey Parajanov Museum and during which the public’s attention was drawn to the issues of exercise of the right of persons deprived of liberty to education. The event was organised by the DVV International Country Office in Armenia within the scope of the project "For Human Rights: Prison Education", with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the German Federation.

Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia Suren Krmoyan expressed gratitude to his counterparts for the initiative devoted to protection of the rights and interests of persons in places of imprisonment and noted that, in case of existence of effectively operating systems and projects for prison education, the positive impact would be visible for the whole society. According to the Deputy Minister, the Government has recently been implementing large-scale reforms in the sectors of criminal justice and criminal punishments. "Penitentiary institutions are undergoing radical changes. The systems of pardon and conditional early release from punishment, operating in compliance with the regulations of the new Constitution, have been launched. At the same time, introduction of the principles and mechanisms of restorative justice in the criminal justice sector requires not only legal, but also social, psychological and educational solutions and mechanisms,” Suren Krmoyan said. He emphasised that applying the institutions of incentives in the criminal justice sector would be effective when persons released through the application of the institutions participate in the educational and resocialisation processes while serving their sentence, and this will result in the reduction of danger of the latter posed to the public.

Suren Krmoyan emphasised that ensuring of the right to education and, in general, of creative activity is of fundamental significance for the prevention of crimes and the reintegration of those persons after release. "It is nice to see that people are realising the importance of these activities more and more each day, and I am certain that this event will have its role and significance in the coverage of the problem and in the creation of new opportunities,” the Deputy Minister of Justice noted.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Republic of Armenia Bernhard Matthias Kiesler, who was present at the meeting, also attached importance to the right of a person to continuing education and interaction with the arts and culture and noted that the right to receive an education cannot be restricted within the prison.

Deputy Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Armenia Hovhannes Hovhannisyan, His Grace Bishop T. Mikael Ajapahyan, Project Co-ordinator Gayane Hovakimyan and others were also attending the meeting.

Within the scope of the event, the life and career of Sergey Parajanov during his years in prison were also touched upon, as well as the works created by famous Armenian and foreign artists in different time periods were presented on postcards and a poster.