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REPORTS: GYUMRI MURDER SUSPECT HAS PSYCHIATRIC RECORD
EurasiaNet.org
Feb 6 2015
February 6, 2015 - 4:56am
Russian media-reports that the Russian conscript accused of
killing an entire family in the Armenian town of Gyumri suffers from
"oligophrenia" (mental retardation) are raising fresh questions about
Moscow's response to the deaths.
Citing anonymous sources, several mainstream Russian news sites
claimed on February 5 that 18-year-old Valery Permyakov, charged with
the deaths of seven members of the Avetisian family, spent more than
a month in a psychiatric hospital before being stationed late last
year at Russia's 102nd army base in Gyumri.
LifeNews, referencing military investigators, reported that doctors at
a psychiatric hospital in the Siberian town of Chita where Permyakov
was stationed supposedly detected "serious behavioral disorders."
An unnamed source told Gazeta.ru that Permyakov earlier had received
a diagnosis of mental retardation. "They didn't have the right at
all to induct him [into the army], much less to place him on guard
with a weapon," the source said.
Mental retardation is not a synonym for psychiatric problems, but,
in Russia, notes one advocacy group for the mentally disabled,
"Mental health care . . .is provided almost exclusively in large
psychiatric institutions."
Those involved with Permyakov's enlistment, however, claimed to
Russian media that they had no knowledge or record of previous
mental-health problems.
The Armenian investigative committee looking into the murders
told RFE/RL's Armenian service that Russian officials have not yet
responded to a request for information about Permyakov's previous
state of mental health.
Military prosecutors have requested that the individuals who approved
Permyakov for military service, as well as the 102nd base-officers
who gave him a weapon be "held accountable," Russian media report,
but how far that scrutiny will go is open to doubt.
As Simon Saradzhyan, a Russian-military expert at Harvard University's
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, wrote in The
Moscow Times, though, the Russian military has long been dogged by
the problem of bloodshed committed by mentally disturbed soldiers
who were cleared for service.
It is not known whether or not Permyakov has been examined by
psychiatrists at the 102nd army base, where he is being held and will
be tried.
That absence of information has fueled suspicions about the reasons
for releasing now the details about Permyakov's alleged condition.
Some Armenians fear that it boils down to Moscow's desire to hush
up the scandal, which is badly damaging its image within Armenia,
Russia's main strategic partner in the South Caucasus.
Protests for Russia to hand the soldier over to Armenian
law-enforcement have been held in Gyumri and the capital, Yerevan. One
man has been arrested in connection with the January 15 Gyumri protest,
which targeted the town's Russian consulate.
The Armenian prosecutor's office has filed a formal request for
Permyakov to be transferred to Armenian custody, but Moscow has not
yet responded publicly.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/71951
EurasiaNet.org
Feb 6 2015
February 6, 2015 - 4:56am
Russian media-reports that the Russian conscript accused of
killing an entire family in the Armenian town of Gyumri suffers from
"oligophrenia" (mental retardation) are raising fresh questions about
Moscow's response to the deaths.
Citing anonymous sources, several mainstream Russian news sites
claimed on February 5 that 18-year-old Valery Permyakov, charged with
the deaths of seven members of the Avetisian family, spent more than
a month in a psychiatric hospital before being stationed late last
year at Russia's 102nd army base in Gyumri.
LifeNews, referencing military investigators, reported that doctors at
a psychiatric hospital in the Siberian town of Chita where Permyakov
was stationed supposedly detected "serious behavioral disorders."
An unnamed source told Gazeta.ru that Permyakov earlier had received
a diagnosis of mental retardation. "They didn't have the right at
all to induct him [into the army], much less to place him on guard
with a weapon," the source said.
Mental retardation is not a synonym for psychiatric problems, but,
in Russia, notes one advocacy group for the mentally disabled,
"Mental health care . . .is provided almost exclusively in large
psychiatric institutions."
Those involved with Permyakov's enlistment, however, claimed to
Russian media that they had no knowledge or record of previous
mental-health problems.
The Armenian investigative committee looking into the murders
told RFE/RL's Armenian service that Russian officials have not yet
responded to a request for information about Permyakov's previous
state of mental health.
Military prosecutors have requested that the individuals who approved
Permyakov for military service, as well as the 102nd base-officers
who gave him a weapon be "held accountable," Russian media report,
but how far that scrutiny will go is open to doubt.
As Simon Saradzhyan, a Russian-military expert at Harvard University's
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, wrote in The
Moscow Times, though, the Russian military has long been dogged by
the problem of bloodshed committed by mentally disturbed soldiers
who were cleared for service.
It is not known whether or not Permyakov has been examined by
psychiatrists at the 102nd army base, where he is being held and will
be tried.
That absence of information has fueled suspicions about the reasons
for releasing now the details about Permyakov's alleged condition.
Some Armenians fear that it boils down to Moscow's desire to hush
up the scandal, which is badly damaging its image within Armenia,
Russia's main strategic partner in the South Caucasus.
Protests for Russia to hand the soldier over to Armenian
law-enforcement have been held in Gyumri and the capital, Yerevan. One
man has been arrested in connection with the January 15 Gyumri protest,
which targeted the town's Russian consulate.
The Armenian prosecutor's office has filed a formal request for
Permyakov to be transferred to Armenian custody, but Moscow has not
yet responded publicly.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/71951