Epress.am News from Armenia
The Republic of Armenia has made final it’s decision to extradite Valery Permyakov to Russia, Armenia’s Ministry of Justice reported on Thursday, adding that the handover took place on May 18.
Permyakov, a 20-year-old conscript soldier of the 102nd Russian military base in Gyumri, was sentenced to life in prison by an Armenian court last August for murdering seven members of an Armenian family in January 2015. After his conviction, however, the soldier was not actually handed over to Armenian law enforcement authorities and continued to remain in Russian custody in the territory of the 102nd military base.
“As a result of negotiations with corresponding Russian authorities an agreement was reached on the provision in the future of information about the execution of Permyakov’s punishment in case of such inquiries,” the ministry, in particular, said in its statement.
Prior to his Armenian trial, Permyakov was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Russian military court for desertion and theft of firearms and ammunition.
Recall, six members of the Avetisyan family, including a 2-year-old girl, were shot to death on January 12, 2015, in their Gyumri home. The family’s seventh member, 6-month-old Seryozha Avetisyan, was hospitalized with serious stab wounds and died 7 days later.
Valery Permyakov, the only suspect in the case, was arrested the following day near the Armenian-Turkish border and was handed over to Russian military officials by Russian border guards. The latter stimulated a protest of thousands of people in Gyumri who demanded that the investigation of the case and Permyakov’s trial be conducted by Armenian authorities. Russian officials, meanwhile, insisted that the soldier could only be tried by a Russian court since the Russian constitution does not allow for an extradition of Russian citizens to foreign states. Months later, however, Russia finally agreed that Permyakov be tried by the Shirak district court of first instance.