“Did you buy her according to Soviet laws? Or did you perhaps steal her according to Soviet laws?” This famous comedic expression has turned into the truth. Saakhov, who kidnapped his bride, demands that they try him according to Soviet laws, and the people who are looking to seek revenge on him threaten (jokingly, of course) to try him according to “the laws of the mountains,” or to seek self-judgment, which is where we get the aforementioned “argument” from. It works well as a joke, of course, but it isn’t an argument in real life. It’s clear that when someone breaks the law in any country, the state needs to punish them according to the law.
Whenever I use that seemingly obvious statement to describe the former authorities, particularly Robert Kocharyan, people begin to argue with me, stating all the crimes of the second president. “But since he…” But first, those crimes have to be proven in court, and second, after they’re proven, he needs to be given the punishment that is detailed in the law.
The same goes for any former authority. Having 30 million or even 30 billion dollars is not a crime yet. It needs to be proven that the money was made through criminal means. If we’re talking about Alexander Sargsyan, brother of ex-president Serzh Sargsyan, then no one doubts, of course, that he still wouldn’t have robbed people to become that rich if he weren’t the brother of the president. But it’s one thing for us to not doubt, and the legal system of investigation, criminal case, trial, and sentencing is another.
Lately, I’ve heard from a very apolitical individual that, “Kocharyan can’t be sentenced. He can’t even be shot. He needs to be hung on Republic Square so the people can rip his body to shreds with knives.” Of course, it wouldn’t have been bad if our previous authorities understood that those types of feelings are prevalent in the people and if they tried to analyze the reasons for that. But it has nothing to do with the legal process.
Norwegian terrorist Andreas Breivik killed 77 people. The court of Norway sentenced him to 21 years in prison and he is kept alone in a cell that is 24 square meters in area, and has three rooms- a bedroom, an office, and a gym. Breivik sometimes complains of inhumane conditions in the jail. Norway is a free and prosperous country.
Aram Abrahamyan
