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ANGRY PROTESTERS IN GYUMRI DEMAND HAND OVER OF PERMYAKOV TO THE ARMENIAN SIDE
By MassisPost
Updated: January 14, 2015
GYUMRI -- Hundreds of furious residents of Gyumri marched through
Armenia's second largest city on Wednesday to demand that a Russian
soldier accused of killing six members of a local family be handed
over to Armenian law-enforcement authorities.
The protest began with a procession of cars that drove around the city
and stopped by key government and security buildings. The protesters
went on to walk towards the Gyumri headquarters of a Russian military
base in Armenia where the soldier, Valery Permyakov, has been kept
since being caught on Monday.
After scuffling with Armenian security forces, they broke through a
police cordon to approach the base's main checkpoint located in the
city's outskirts. The protesters were stopped there by more lines of
riot police and about two dozen Russian soldiers standing behind them.
Organizers of the protest pleaded with the mostly young and male
crowd not to clash with them.
A senior Armenian prosecutor arrived at the scene moments later in a
bid to defuse tensions. He urged the crowd to demonstrate elsewhere
in Gyumri.
Armenia's Office of the Prosecutor-General said on Tuesday that it is
"not discussing" Permyakov's handover with Russian military officials
because Russia's constitution prohibits the extradition of Russian
nationals to foreign states. It made no reference to a 1997 treaty
regulating the Russian military presence in Armenia.
The treaty stipulates that Russian military personnel in the South
Caucasus suspected of committing crimes outside their installations
shall be dealt with by Armenian law-enforcement and judicial
authorities.
The prosecutors' explanation angered many Armenians who fear that
the Russian military will cover up the gruesome crime. Some of them
also consider Russian custody of the suspect a violation of Armenia's
national sovereignty.
Lawyer Norayr Norikian considers reference to Article 61.1 of
the Russian Constitution as absurd. "This vicious crime has been
committed on the territory of the Republic of Armenia, where the
Russian Constitution cannot be applied."
Norayr Norikian says the murderer should be punished to the fullest
extent of the law, up to life imprisonment.
In an apparent response to the Gyumri protest, the Office of the
Prosecutor-General issued on Wednesday afternoon a statement saying
that it is doing everything to "ensure the inevitability of criminal
liability for the crime."
Another Armenian law-enforcement agency, the Investigative
Committee (IC), said it is taking measures to ensure that the
ongoing investigation into the killings is "comprehensive, full and
objective." The committee also announced that it has formally indicted
Permyakov on corresponding murder charges.
But neither the prosecutors nor the IC clarified whether the Armenian
authorities will seek to have custody of the Russian soldier.
"Our demands have not been fulfilled," Levon Barseghian, one of the
organizers of the Gyumri protest, declared after reading out both
statements to the angry crowd standing outside the local prosecutors'
headquarters. "The prosecutors have not changed their position voiced
yesterday," he said.
The protesters responding by marching towards the Russian base. They
chanted "Shame!" and "We are the masters of our country!" during
the protest.
Protest in Yerevan Residents of Yerevan staged a similar protest
action in Liberty Square and marched to the presidential residence
demanding that Russian soldier Valery Permaykov must be handed over
to the Armenian side.
They also called to announce days of mourning, and promised to come
back to the square unless their demand is satisfied. Another action
will be staged near Russian Embassy in Yerevan.
"The criminal must be held accountable in Armenia, the investigation
should take place in Armenia. We have an agreement with Russia
on the deployment of Russian military base which states that if a
representative of a military base committed committed a crime on
the territory of Armenia, he should be handed over to the Armenian
law enforcement agencies," protester Narek Ayvazyian told Armenian
News-NEWS.am.
http://massispost.com/2015/01/angry-protesters-in-gyumri-demand-hand-over-of-permyakov-to-the-armenian-side/
By MassisPost
Updated: January 14, 2015
GYUMRI -- Hundreds of furious residents of Gyumri marched through
Armenia's second largest city on Wednesday to demand that a Russian
soldier accused of killing six members of a local family be handed
over to Armenian law-enforcement authorities.
The protest began with a procession of cars that drove around the city
and stopped by key government and security buildings. The protesters
went on to walk towards the Gyumri headquarters of a Russian military
base in Armenia where the soldier, Valery Permyakov, has been kept
since being caught on Monday.
After scuffling with Armenian security forces, they broke through a
police cordon to approach the base's main checkpoint located in the
city's outskirts. The protesters were stopped there by more lines of
riot police and about two dozen Russian soldiers standing behind them.
Organizers of the protest pleaded with the mostly young and male
crowd not to clash with them.
A senior Armenian prosecutor arrived at the scene moments later in a
bid to defuse tensions. He urged the crowd to demonstrate elsewhere
in Gyumri.
Armenia's Office of the Prosecutor-General said on Tuesday that it is
"not discussing" Permyakov's handover with Russian military officials
because Russia's constitution prohibits the extradition of Russian
nationals to foreign states. It made no reference to a 1997 treaty
regulating the Russian military presence in Armenia.
The treaty stipulates that Russian military personnel in the South
Caucasus suspected of committing crimes outside their installations
shall be dealt with by Armenian law-enforcement and judicial
authorities.
The prosecutors' explanation angered many Armenians who fear that
the Russian military will cover up the gruesome crime. Some of them
also consider Russian custody of the suspect a violation of Armenia's
national sovereignty.
Lawyer Norayr Norikian considers reference to Article 61.1 of
the Russian Constitution as absurd. "This vicious crime has been
committed on the territory of the Republic of Armenia, where the
Russian Constitution cannot be applied."
Norayr Norikian says the murderer should be punished to the fullest
extent of the law, up to life imprisonment.
In an apparent response to the Gyumri protest, the Office of the
Prosecutor-General issued on Wednesday afternoon a statement saying
that it is doing everything to "ensure the inevitability of criminal
liability for the crime."
Another Armenian law-enforcement agency, the Investigative
Committee (IC), said it is taking measures to ensure that the
ongoing investigation into the killings is "comprehensive, full and
objective." The committee also announced that it has formally indicted
Permyakov on corresponding murder charges.
But neither the prosecutors nor the IC clarified whether the Armenian
authorities will seek to have custody of the Russian soldier.
"Our demands have not been fulfilled," Levon Barseghian, one of the
organizers of the Gyumri protest, declared after reading out both
statements to the angry crowd standing outside the local prosecutors'
headquarters. "The prosecutors have not changed their position voiced
yesterday," he said.
The protesters responding by marching towards the Russian base. They
chanted "Shame!" and "We are the masters of our country!" during
the protest.
Protest in Yerevan Residents of Yerevan staged a similar protest
action in Liberty Square and marched to the presidential residence
demanding that Russian soldier Valery Permaykov must be handed over
to the Armenian side.
They also called to announce days of mourning, and promised to come
back to the square unless their demand is satisfied. Another action
will be staged near Russian Embassy in Yerevan.
"The criminal must be held accountable in Armenia, the investigation
should take place in Armenia. We have an agreement with Russia
on the deployment of Russian military base which states that if a
representative of a military base committed committed a crime on
the territory of Armenia, he should be handed over to the Armenian
law enforcement agencies," protester Narek Ayvazyian told Armenian
News-NEWS.am.
http://massispost.com/2015/01/angry-protesters-in-gyumri-demand-hand-over-of-permyakov-to-the-armenian-side/