March to Presidential Palace: citizens demand handover of Russian murder suspect
A group of citizens will hold a march from Liberty Square to the Presidential Palace today demanding the authorities to declare a day of mourning for the six six members of the Avetisyan family who were killed in Gyumri on Monday. The group also demands that the investigation of the case be carried out by the Armenian side. The group will then return to Liberty Square where a candlelight vigil will be held for the innocent victims of the Gyumri shooting spree. “We demand that Russia hand over the criminal to Armenian law enforcement agencies. The demand stems from the Armenian Legislature and everyone is obliged to respect and observe the provision,” said members of a Facebook initiative called “We are all Avetisyans.” “Valery Permyakov, a citizen of the Russian Federation who was serving in Russian military base N102 in Armenia, is suspected of murdering a six-member family in Gyumri on Monday, January 12. Permyakov is now under the control of the law-enforcement bodies of the Russian Federation. Permyakov was detained later on Monday while crossing the border with Turkey. On Tuesday, the Armenian Prosecutor-General’s Office issued a statement saying the issue of Permyakov’s handover to Armenian law-enforcement bodies is not considered taking into account point 1 of article 61 of the RF Constitution, under which a citizen of the Russian Federation cannot be handed over to another state.
