Սեռժեմբերիկներ: Punishing Child Molesters.

We don't have them! This is what you hear in societies where putting rose colored glasses or sticking their heads in sand is the appropriate way of dealing with the reality. In Soviet Union, they said that about a lot of things: any kind of sex (including love-making between consenting adults), prostitution, drugs, child molestation, poverty, illiteracy and things like that.

As a devoted post-Soviet society, Armenia has continued to deal with issues in a similar fashion. About a year ago, Mariam Sukhudian, an environmental activist, researched and published child molestation cases in a Yerevan orphanage/boarding school by one of the teachers there. Immediately, the police went into their usual mode and charged her for "false snitching". The readers may remember that this is kind of an allegation the Armenian government uses to imprison undesirable people who dare to speak out (Sargis Hatspanian is still serving his 7 year term in prison for a newspaper interview).

There was a major uproar and grudgingly the police actually started investigating the child molestation cases. Lo and behold, they actually determined that the allegations were indeed true and charged the teacher in question. Today it turns out that they want the judge to sentence the child molester to 1.5 years in prison.

To add insult to the injury, the trial is being expedited Under the Armenian law, expedited trials do not require to go over the details of the criminal case and no witnesses are examined. This is despite the objections of the attorney representing the interests of the victims.

For a comparison, consider this: innocent people get sent to prison in Armenia for 5 to 7 years. At least!

A child molester, on the other hand, is treated with mercy. But at least they are sending him to jail. In 2000 when then president Robert Kocharian's guards beat up and killed Poghos Poghosian at the popular Paplavok cafe in Yerevan, only one of the guards was charged with "careless pushing" and sentenced to 2 years of probation.