There have been 23 escapes from house arrest in one year, no one knows where they are. "People"

The “Zhoghovurd” daily writes: While the authorities demonstrate almost round-the-clock control over people undergoing political cases, it turns out that in just one year, 23 cases of escapes from people under house arrest have been recorded. Moreover, the Probation Service does not even have statistics on whether these people have been found or not.

The “Zhoghovurd” daily sent a query to the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, Sbuhi Galyan, and in response to the query, the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia reported that in 2025, 2,053 people were registered with the Probation Service through alternative detention to house arrest, and currently 951 people are under house arrest.

However, the most remarkable thing is the data on escapes.

According to the official response, from January 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026, 23 cases of escapes of persons under house arrest were recorded. In other words, people simply left the house arrest system, in some cases committing repeated crimes.

However, here begins the most interesting part. The ministry actually admits that it does not have further data on how many escape cases have been revealed, how many people have been found, how many are still being searched for or returned under control. As the response states, “statistics cannot be compiled” on all this.

A paradoxical situation arises: the state keeps people under house arrest, but does not even have a complete picture of how many of these people have escaped, where they are, and whether they continue to pose a danger to the public. Meanwhile, the public has repeatedly witnessed in recent years what kind of strict and sometimes demonstrative control is exercised, especially over persons involved in political cases. In the case of political opponents, the law enforcement system operates with clockwork precision: constant monitoring, rapid response, public pressure.

But when it comes to people undergoing ordinary criminal cases, real dangerous criminals, the picture is different: people escape from house arrest, and the system has no statistics on their fate. This is no longer just a management issue, but also a public safety issue.

After all, if house arrest is presented as an effective alternative to deprivation of liberty, then how is it that dozens of people manage to violate the restrictions, and the responsible bodies cannot clearly answer whether they have been detected or not?