YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. Prosecutor General of Armenia Arthur Davtyan has approved France’s request on extraditing Merab Kalashov, a previously convicted thief-in-law currently under arrest in Armenia, for criminal proceedings, the general prosecution told ARMENPRESS in response of an inquiry.

“Taking into consideration that Merab Kalashov is wanted by French law enforcement agencies and that a motion on transfer from French authorized bodies is present, the prosecutor has filed a motion to court requesting to place Kalashov under arrest pending extradition. The court has approved the motion. He has been placed under a two-months detention. The prosecutor general of Armenia has made a decision on allowing the extradition of Kalashov to French authorized bodies for criminal proceedings,” the general prosecution said.

The 43-year-old stateless ‘thief-in-law’ wanted by France was arrested in Yerevan on November 6 by officers of the general department of criminal intelligence of Armenian police.

Merab Kalashov is wanted by French law enforcement agencies since 2015 for conspiracy to commit a crime, money laundering and organized crime activities. The man does not have citizenship of any country.

This phenomenon, known as thief-in-law, emerged in the infamous Soviet gulags and became a prison culture in most of post-Soviet states.

“Thief-in-law” is a specifically granted formal status of a professional criminal who enjoys an elite position within the organized crime environment and employs informal authority over its lower-status members. Criminals are “crowned” as thieves-in-law by senior members of the organized crime syndicates for many years of contributions to the criminal business or long record behind bars.

Thieves-in-law are known for their distinctive tattoos and code of conduct.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan