Lawyer: Restoring driver`s licenses to citizens deprived of them in  Armenia without exam cheap election bribe

ArmInfo.  Restoring driver's licenses to citizens deprived of them without passing an exam and paying a fine is a cheap election bribe in Armenia. This was stated by lawyer Vahe Yeprikyan.

First of all, the lawyer hastened to emphasize that he advocates not  only for an amnesty for traffic violations in Armenia, but also for  their decriminalization in general, but not in cases where they  result in death or the damage caused is not compensated. "And what is  the government doing? It's declaring that if a certain fine is paid,  the licenses of those who have been deprived of their licenses will  be reinstated without the need to take a new exam. In other words,  dear defendant, the government is giving you an election bribe using  your own money. The government isn't declaring an amnesty in which  the criminal prosecution against you would be dropped, or you would  be released from serving your sentence, or your convictions would be  expunged, not to mention that this would significantly reduce the  workload on investigative bodies, prosecutors, courts, probation  services, and correctional facilities. Instead, the authorities are  declaring: 'Who cares that you've been deprived of your license, just  pay up and drive, as long as you choose the Civil Contract party in  these elections.' This is unprecedented: instead of a humanitarian  act by the state, we're bribing a citizen with another citizen's  money. And what about all those defendants who didn't even have a  driver's license?" Yeprikyan continued.

"For example, someone got into an accident while intoxicated, fled  the scene, and had their license revoked, but was allowed to drive  again. Someone else was driving drunk and without a license, but  committed no violations and caused no harm. This person should be  brought to trial, while the public danger in the first case is  incomparably greater.

Or, if someone obtained their driver's license legally, how can they  fail to take the new exam? That means they obtained it through  corruption. Instead of determining the legality of these people's  licenses, you're turning the exam into a formality," the lawyer  asked.

According to him, this isn't just a matter of traffic violations, but  also of many other minor and moderate crimes-thousands of defendants  and convicts, on whom enormous state resources are wasted. He added  that an amnesty would not only improve the situation but would also  be a truly humane step.

Earlier, the Armenian Prime Minister announced that 5,000 drivers who  had their licenses revoked for traffic violations, including drunk  driving, would be able to get their licenses back without taking a  traffic test.