Armenian Arrested in Russia Could Face Life Imprisonment

Russian law enforcement officials detained Armenian national Arayik Atoyan, 31, in Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, for allegedly murdering one of the directors of a private security company operating in Stavropol, reports RIA Novosti, citing Valery Gorelykh, a spokesperson for the region’s police.

The murder took place in early Dec. 2010. The murdered stole the company director’s car and fled the scene. A criminal case was launched.

“Suspected in the crime is Atoyan, who, according to investigators, immediately after the murder left with his family for Urals, where he planned to lay low.

“However, police were able to catch him when he was about to move to a rented apartment,” said Gorelykh.

According to the police spokesperson, an investigation is underway. Law enforcement officials don’t exclude the possibility that Atoyan is behind a number of other serious crimes.

If convicted, Atoyan faces the possibility of life imprisonment.