Member of the Founding Parliament: Permyakov was not alone (video)
A service for the Avetisyan family killed on January 12 was held at St Zoravor church in Gyumri today at the initiative of the Founding Parliament. Priest Ter Koryun expressed confidence that the perpetrator of the mass killing will be punished. In his turn, lawyer Varuzhan Avetisyan, a member of the Founding Parliament, added that the criminal could not have carried out the assassination alone. “Valery Permyakov could not have killed people sleeping in three rooms at a time,” he said adding that Permyakov was not alone during the crime. Mr Avetisyan is convinced that the crime will not be disclosed. Six members of the Avetisyan family – Seryozha Avetisyan, his wife Hasmik, daughter Aida, son Armen, daughter-in-law Araksya, and two-year-old granddaughter Hasmik – were murdered in their home on January 12. Only the six month-old Seryozha Avetisyan survived the vicious murder, who was hospitalized with stab wounds in his chest. The six murders that occurred in Gyumri shocked residents of Armenia. Later on the same day Valery Permyakov, a Russian soldier stationed at military base No. 102 in Gyumri was arrested by Russian border guards and Armenian security forces when attempting to cross the border with Turkey. Permyakov confessed to the murders. He was reported to have deserted his post at night and gone on rampage, killing the six people of the Avetisyan family. The six-month-old Seryozha Avetisyan was later moved to the Surb Astvatsamayr (Holy Mother of God) Yerevan Medical Center. He remains in critical condition and is being treated at the hospital’s intensive care unit.
