15:35, 3 March 2015

Russia's GPO refuses to give Permyakov out to Armenia

The Russian General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) has rejected the appeal of the Armenian MP Zarui Postanjyan to extradite the Russian regular soldier Valery Permyakov, accused of massacring the Avetisyan family in Gyumri, to the Armenian party.

On January 12, in Gyumri, six members of the Avetisyan family were assassinated. The only survivor of the attack – the six-month-old Sergey Avetisyan – was hospitalized in critical condition and on January 19, he died. A Russian regular soldier Valery Permyakov was arrested as a suspect of committing the massacre. He is kept under reinforced guard in the territory of the 102^nd Russian military base. According to the Investigating Committee (IC) of Armenia, Permyakov officially admitted the charges against him.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 25, Zarui Postanjyan, an MP from the "Heritage" Party, drafted a statement about the murder of the Avetisyan family in Gyumri. The draft sent to the Armenian Parliament contained a demand to give Permyakov out to Armenian law enforcement bodies.

On January 20, in the course of drafting her statement, Postanjyan sent a request for Permyakov's extradition to the GPO of Russia. The written reply of the GPO that she received and released today says that Valery Permyakov was detained by law enforcement bodies of the Russian Federation.

"According to Article 61 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and Article 57 of the Convention on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Matters of January 22, 1993, Valery Permyakov is not subject to extradition to the competent bodies of the Republic of Armenia, as he is a citizen of the Russian Federation," says the letter of the Russian GPO.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.

Author: Armine Martirosyan

Source: CK correspondent