The National Security Service, keeping in focus children’s rights established by internatnoal conventions and Armenian laws, as well as the issue of defending the legal rights of parents and the state in adoption and family preservation terms, within the framework of functions reserved to it by the law and in the result of large-scale investigative operations, has revealed numerous cases of child adoption by foreigners with gross violation of Armenian legislation.
According to the acquired data, two citizens of Armenia, using their connections in a maternity ward, several governmental agencies and orphanages, have organized the adoption of more than 30 Armenian children by Italian citizens by grossly violating Armenian legislation.
In 2016-2018, several administrative staffers of the maternity facility for motives of profit have deliberately coerced over ten women who had applied for abortion for social or personal issues, to eventually give birth and give up the child for adoption, in particular cases threatening to disclose the pregnancy, exaggerating newborn’s disease and applying psychological pressure through false information. In several cases, the medics even did not hesitate to charge the women money for rendered medical services as a bribe.
After receiving a written consent, the majority of the newborns were taken to orphanages with accompanying medical papers, which contained fake health diagnoses. Officials of the abovementioned facilities, by abusing their powers and using the made up diagnoses noted by the maternity ward in the medical papers, violated the priority of Armenian nationals’ right to adopt these children and indirectly obstructed the children’s adoption by Armenian nationals.
The Investigative Department of the RA NSS has initiated a criminal case pursuant to the relative articles of the RA Criminal Code. An investigation is underway.
Note: The person suspected or charged with a crime is not considered guilty until the blame is proven in the order established by the RA Criminal Procedure Code by a court verdict entered into force legally.
