GYUMRI, Armenia (A.W.)—Valery Permyakov, the Russian serviceman accused of murdering seven members of the Avetisyan family in Gyumri, was found guilty on Aug. 23 on all the charges against him and sentenced to life in prison.
Permyakov—whose trial was being held at a Russian military court in Gyumri—was found guilty on multiple charges of murder, armed attack, and attempt to illegally cross the Armenian border. The court did not specify where Permyakov will serve his sentence. According to several reports, Permyakov will likely serve his sentence in a Russian prison.
Permyakov was convicted on Aug. 12, 2015 of desertion and illegal weapons possession as a precursor to his murder trial. A Russian military court in Gyumri handed Permyakov a ten-year prison sentence on charges of desertion and illegal weapons possession.
Permyakov was in custody at the Russian military base in Gyumri after being arrested during an attempt to cross the Armenian-Turkish border. Questions over whether Permyakov would be prosecuted by a Russian military tribunal in Yerevan or by an Armenian court arose after it was confirmed that he would not be extradited to Russia. Russian soldiers on the Gyumri military base who commit crimes are subject to Armenian law enforcement and judicial bodies, per a bilateral treaty signed in 1997 between Armenia and Russia.
Armenian state prosecutors confirmed on June 30, 2015, that Permyakov would be tried by an Armenian court. Several protests and demonstrations in Armenia were staged after news of the murder spread on Jan. 12. Protesters in Gyumri and Yerevan made several demands, including having the Russian military base closed and insisting that Permyakov be turned over to Armenian law enforcement.
Now Armenia wants to be politically correct too! I never expected this.
If this criminal does not serve his life sentence in an Armenian jail its another nail on the coffin of Armenian sovereignty & Independence under criminal sultan serjik.
Permyakov deserves the death sentence & nothing less. Also what was his motive in killing the Armenian family in Gumri.
In Armenia the death penalty was replaced by life imprisonment. Will former US Marine Kenneth Franklin Shinzato, charged with raping and strangling a 20-year-old Japanese woman, receive death penalty?