Court of General Jurisdiction of Shirak Marz chaired by judge Harutyun Movsesyan sentenced today Valeri Permyakov, Russian serviceman from 102nd Military Base, to life imprisonment over the mass murder of seven members of the Avetisyan family in Gyumri, Armenia, on January 2015.

The court found the indictments on all of the charges brought against Permyakov proved. V. Permaykov was convicted 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).

According to the Court ruling, Permyakov was sentenced to life imprisonment under Article104 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).

To note, none of the legal successors to the Avetisyan’s family was present at the courtroom during the announcement of the verdict.

On January 12, 2015 Valeri Permyakov was performing guard service with a rifle of AKA-74 model, 60 bullets of 5.45 mm caliber and a bayonet knife number 689 attached to him. At about 02:00 he voluntarily left the post and with the purpose of finding clothes and money walked around Gyumri. At about 06:00 getting to the house 188, Myasnikyan Street, Gyumri with the intend to steal somebody’s property, through banditry by using a weapon he entered the yard through the open gate, approached the house, through taking out the door glass with the bayonet knife and opening the door with a key which was on the lock from the inside, he illegally entered the mentioned house and with the intend to deprive two or more persons from life, he killed the residents of the same house Aida Avetisyan, Hasmik Avetisyan, Seryozha Avetisyan, Armen Avetisyan, Araqsya Poghosyan and the infant Hasmik Avetisyan with 28 point-blank shots fired from rifle of AKA-74.

Then with the intend to murder, he stabbed five times with the bayonet knife fixed to the rifle at vital organs of 6 month-old Seryozha Avetisyan lying helplessly at his mother’s lap. As a result the baby died in hospital seven days later.