Gevorg (name changed) was not yet fifteen years old when he was arrested in Armenia for the attempted murder of his father.

There was always discord in the boy’s family. His father regularly insulted and beat his mother. All this impacted Gevorg. In August 2025, to take revenge, he struck his sleeping father ten times with a kitchen knife. The father woke up and snatched the knife from his son's hands.

A public criminal prosecution of attempted murder was initiated against Gevorg. During the preliminary investigation, the boy was placed under house arrest. The case is currently being examined by the Lori Regional Court of General Jurisdiction.

In 2025, the majority of the sixty-two juveniles facing trial were aged 16–18. Statistics show that social isolation and exclusion from education prompted the formation of criminal behavior, and the courts often prefer to apply conditional imprisonment, prioritizing the educational and resocialization factor.

Of the juveniles, twenty-seven were sentenced to imprisonment by the courts, mostly for a term of two-three years. Six were sentenced to a term of 3–5 years.

Twenty-seven juveniles who committed crimes neither worked nor attended school, which indicates certain social problems. Sixteen of the unemployed juveniles were convicted in Yerevan’s city court, five in the Lori Province, three in the Ararat and Vayots Dzor general jurisdiction courts, etc.

Traffic safety violations and reckless driving dominated the cases involving minors examined in the courts. Twenty-two were convicted for these violations.

The press in Armenia often write about car accidents involving minors behind the wheel. Juveniles without a driver's license are often inebriated when driving.

Six minors appeared in court for carrying firearms.

Among the provincial courts of general jurisdiction, only Aragatzotn courts did not pass any verdicts against minors in 2025. The largest number was in Yerevan, with twenty-two cases.

International expert on children's rights protection, David Tumasyan, tells Hetq that the age of criminal responsibility in Armenia is sixteen. In exceptional cases, responsibility is imposed from the age of 14 (for example, in cases of murder, robbery, etc.). This is because the majority of those convicted are 16-18 years old.

According to Tumasyan, the lack of access to employment, education, or job opportunities reflects the social isolation experienced by these children. When individuals have unstructured free time that is not productively utilized, they may begin to display deviant behaviors, potentially increasing the risk of involvement in criminal activities.

“In many cases, minor mischief can slowly accumulate, grow, and lead to a person committing a serious crime. If there are no educational, social, cultural, and sports programs, we will have such a picture, and the numbers will grow,” says  Tumasyan.

Tumasyan believes it is beneficial when a minor is not immediately placed in a penitentiary institution to serve their sentence. In his view, this approach is unacceptable from both resocialization and future risk perspectives. He notes that, in certain situations, being confined to a penal institution may worsen a minor's negative behavior. As a result, the court often issues a conditional sentence to prevent the minor from entering a penal institution.

According to the expert, there is a mechanism in international law that encourages a child to perform social work. In other words, community service changes the behavior of a minor.

"We do not yet have such regulations. Unfortunately, we have a severe problem in this regard. There should be a special institution where minors who have committed crimes and offenses would benefit from resocialization programs and services. Although the deadlines stipulated by the Criminal Code have expired, such an institution has not yet been created in Armenia," says Tumasyan, adding that the existence of such an institution is important, as it has a positive impact, especially on persons who have committed crimes of minor or medium gravity, for the first time.

Infographics by Aren Nazaryan