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SOLDIER WHO KILLED SIX ARMENIANS TO REMAIN UNDER RUSSIAN JURISDICTION
EurasiaNet.org
Jan 14 2015
January 14, 2015 - 11:00am, by Joshua Kucera
The Russian soldier accused of killing six members of an Armenian
family was captured and will be prosecuted under Russian jurisdiction,
in spite of the fact that the base agreement between the two countries
appears to give Armenia that right.
Valery Permyakov, a Russian conscript, deserted his guard post at the
102nd military base in Gyumri, Armenia, and shot six members of the
Avetsiyan family while they slept. About 24 hours, he was captured
near the Armenia-Turkey border and reportedly confessed to the crime.
Russian border guards patrol the border between Armenia and Turkey,
and it was officers from that force who arrested Permyakov. Armenian
authorities announced shortly thereafter that he would be prosecuted
by Russia, not by them:
"Valery Permyakov suspected of the crime is a Russian citizen and has
been placed under the control of Russian law enforcement agencies, that
is under the Russian jurisdiction. Thus, handing over Valery Permyakov
to Armenian law enforcement bodies is not discussed considering the ban
enshrined in paragraph 1 of Article 61 of the Russian Constitution,
which speculates that the Russian citizen cannot be handed over to
another country," according to a press release from the office of
the General Prosecutor of Armenia.
But it's not clear why the Russian constitution would be the relevant
document given that all this happened in Armenia. From the bilateral
agreement regulating the presence of the Russian base in Armenia:
"On issues of crimes or other violations of the law committed on
the territory of the Republic of Armenia by personnel of the Russian
military base, and family members of the personnel, the legislation
of the Republic of Armenia applies, and its competent organs operate."
Exceptions are made for crimes committed on the base property, crimes
committed against other Russian base personnel, and war crimes,
but none of those would seem to apply here.
But Armenia doesn't seem likely to push the issue. Defense Minister
Seyran Ohanian appealed for the issue not to be politicized: ""Yet I
believe that there is no need to politicize that incident and look for
notes of worsening of Armenian-Russian relations in it. We have quite
a high level of political relations with Russia, and our cooperation
in the military sphere is also on a high level."
Nevertheless, there have been some attempts at politicization like
a demonstration at the Russian embassy in Yerevan demanding that the
base commander be held responsible for the crime, and online campaigns
to kick the base out of Armenia.
Political analyst Sergey Minasyan says that while many in Armenia
believe the case should be tried by the Armenian authorities, the
controversy will have little effect overall on bilateral relations
because security considerations outweigh everything else.
"Of course, there is a lot of controversy among the Armenian
society and in the perceptions of ordinary people, but I am not
sure that this terrible incident will have any serious effect on
the intergovernmental relations," Minasyan told The Bug Pit. "Even
in these conditions the Russian base acts as a security guarantor
in the region and relations with Russia are so vital for Armenian
security and economic development."
One wonders what would have happened had it been Armenian police,
rather than Russian border guards, who captured Permyakov. The way it
turned out allows Yerevan to save face, as actually handing the man
who committed Armenia's worst crime in recent memory over to foreign
authorities would have been an extra dollop of humiliation.
UPDATE: Later on January 14, "thousands" of Gyumri residents protested
outside the base, even getting into scuffles with police, demanding
that Russian hand Permyakov over to the Armenian authorities. Stay
tuned...
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/71616
EurasiaNet.org
Jan 14 2015
January 14, 2015 - 11:00am, by Joshua Kucera
The Russian soldier accused of killing six members of an Armenian
family was captured and will be prosecuted under Russian jurisdiction,
in spite of the fact that the base agreement between the two countries
appears to give Armenia that right.
Valery Permyakov, a Russian conscript, deserted his guard post at the
102nd military base in Gyumri, Armenia, and shot six members of the
Avetsiyan family while they slept. About 24 hours, he was captured
near the Armenia-Turkey border and reportedly confessed to the crime.
Russian border guards patrol the border between Armenia and Turkey,
and it was officers from that force who arrested Permyakov. Armenian
authorities announced shortly thereafter that he would be prosecuted
by Russia, not by them:
"Valery Permyakov suspected of the crime is a Russian citizen and has
been placed under the control of Russian law enforcement agencies, that
is under the Russian jurisdiction. Thus, handing over Valery Permyakov
to Armenian law enforcement bodies is not discussed considering the ban
enshrined in paragraph 1 of Article 61 of the Russian Constitution,
which speculates that the Russian citizen cannot be handed over to
another country," according to a press release from the office of
the General Prosecutor of Armenia.
But it's not clear why the Russian constitution would be the relevant
document given that all this happened in Armenia. From the bilateral
agreement regulating the presence of the Russian base in Armenia:
"On issues of crimes or other violations of the law committed on
the territory of the Republic of Armenia by personnel of the Russian
military base, and family members of the personnel, the legislation
of the Republic of Armenia applies, and its competent organs operate."
Exceptions are made for crimes committed on the base property, crimes
committed against other Russian base personnel, and war crimes,
but none of those would seem to apply here.
But Armenia doesn't seem likely to push the issue. Defense Minister
Seyran Ohanian appealed for the issue not to be politicized: ""Yet I
believe that there is no need to politicize that incident and look for
notes of worsening of Armenian-Russian relations in it. We have quite
a high level of political relations with Russia, and our cooperation
in the military sphere is also on a high level."
Nevertheless, there have been some attempts at politicization like
a demonstration at the Russian embassy in Yerevan demanding that the
base commander be held responsible for the crime, and online campaigns
to kick the base out of Armenia.
Political analyst Sergey Minasyan says that while many in Armenia
believe the case should be tried by the Armenian authorities, the
controversy will have little effect overall on bilateral relations
because security considerations outweigh everything else.
"Of course, there is a lot of controversy among the Armenian
society and in the perceptions of ordinary people, but I am not
sure that this terrible incident will have any serious effect on
the intergovernmental relations," Minasyan told The Bug Pit. "Even
in these conditions the Russian base acts as a security guarantor
in the region and relations with Russia are so vital for Armenian
security and economic development."
One wonders what would have happened had it been Armenian police,
rather than Russian border guards, who captured Permyakov. The way it
turned out allows Yerevan to save face, as actually handing the man
who committed Armenia's worst crime in recent memory over to foreign
authorities would have been an extra dollop of humiliation.
UPDATE: Later on January 14, "thousands" of Gyumri residents protested
outside the base, even getting into scuffles with police, demanding
that Russian hand Permyakov over to the Armenian authorities. Stay
tuned...
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/71616