Zero tolerance towards all kinds of unlawfulness. Karen Andreasyan introduces newly appointed Head of the Penitentiary Service

I add to the principle of zero tolerance towards the criminal subculture the principle of zero tolerance towards all kinds of unlawfulness. This is what Karen Andreasyan stated today when introducing newly appointed Head of the Penitentiary Service Sergey Atomyan to the employees of the Penitentiary Service.

Minister Andreasyan expressed his gratitude to former Head of the Service, Major General Artur Goyunyan for the huge work carried out and the progress made in the last two years, emphasising that this evaluation reflects that of the whole political team as well.

Congratulating Sergey Atomyan on his appointment, Karen Andreasyan stated that the newly appointed Head of the Penitentiary Service not only possesses deep legal knowledge, but also has a political background, vast experience in organisational and managerial work, and the political team has great confidence in Mr Atomyan. “We are unanimous on the issue of reform programmes, we have specific programmes, which we will implement through joint efforts,” - said the Minister of Justice.

Touching upon the other principles targeted at the reforms in the system, Minister Andreasyan also emphasised the ensuring of protection of human rights and the creation of dignified conditions for persons deprived of liberty in all penitentiary institutions, as well as the building of a new model penitentiary institution, which will be new not only in terms of its structure, but also in terms of its employees with a good education and training.

Former Head of the Service Artur Goyunyan expressed his gratitude for the evaluation and emphasised that the recorded progress was made possible thanks to the great support of the Government and the daily hard work of the employees.

The newly appointed Head of the Service Sergey Atomyan expressed his gratitude to the attendees for their warm reception and emphasised that the Programme of the Government encompasses a big vision for the penitentiary system, which is to have a more sustainable and powerful Penitentiary Service and the goal is to return convicts to society as law-abiding citizens through re-socialisation programmes.