Successors of Avetisyan family claim poor investigation into murder in Gyumri

The fact that Valery Permyakov is still under Russian jurisdiction impedes the investigation into the murder of the Avetisyan family in Gyumri. This opinion has been expressed by representatives of the successors and relatives of the killed persons.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that 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.

After the results of ballistic examination had become available, doubts about that fact that Valery Permyakov acted without accomplices increased. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Arthur Sakunts, the head of the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Vanadzor Office.

He has noted that the examination failed to give specific answers to questions if Valery Permyakov acted alone, if he used a silencer and why the neighbours did not hear more than 30 shots.

The human rights defender has added that representatives of the successors of the Avetisyan family demand active legal actions from the General Prosecutor's Office of Armenia and the Investigating Committee against the leaders of the Russian military base and law enforcers, since, according to Arthur Sakunts, they prevented the solution of the case, and as a result, "all traces were destroyed."

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