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Armenia’s Criminal Court of Appeal, chaired by judge Mher Arghamanyan, rejected the
two civil suits lodged within the proceeding of the Permyakov case over the Russian soldier, who killed a family in Armenia. The Court refused to consider the appeals by the successors of the Avetisyan family, challenging the verdict of the Court of the General Jurisdiction of Shirak region as well as demanding compensation for moral damages to the family. 

Lawyer Mihran Poghosyan, who advocated the interests of the victims’ legal successors, announced about the intention to dispute the Court’s decision of not taking into consideration the suit over compensation in the Court of Cassation.

The lawyers of the Avetisyan family successors argued that the victims were arbitrarily deprived of life that constituted violation of their right to life.

On January 12, 2015 Valery Permyakov, a private serving at the Russian military base in Armenia, fled his post carrying arms and cartridges. Later on, he broke into a private house in Gyumri and shot dead a family of six, including a two-year child, and wounded a six-month baby, who died in a hospital a few days later.

Permyakov was sentenced to life in prison on August 23 charged under the Armenian Criminal Code’s Article 104 part 2 points 1, 5, and 8 (contract murder of two or more people committed with cruelty, for mercenary motives, and combined with extortion, robbery or banditry), Article 175 part 2 points 3 and 4 (robbery committed after a break-in, with the use of weapons or other objects used as a weapon), and Article 34-329 part 1 (an attempt to violate the state border of the Republic of Armenia without the necessary documents or permission). Permyakov pleaded guilty to the charges.