Avetisyans' relatives demand new trial of family murder in Gyumri

The successors of the Avetisyan family have filed a complaint to the Cassation Court demanding a re-examination of the massacre in Gyumri by the first-instance court. Should the complaint be rejected, they intend to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 19, 2016, the Armenia's Court of Appeal (CoA) upheld the verdict of life imprisonment of Valery Permyakov for the murder of the Avetisyan family in Gyumri. The CoA also dismissed the complaint lodged by the successors' defence against the judgement of the first-instance court of the Shirak Region to reject the civil claim against Russia for compensation of moral harm.

According to Arthur Sakunts, a rights defender and the head of the Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Civil Assembly, who is representing the interests of Avetisyans' successors, the investigation materials of the Russian party were mechanically attached to the case files compiled by Armenian investigators. "This is a flagrant violation," Mr Sakunts has stressed.

Avetisyans' relatives also insist on the version that Permyakov had acted not alone.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.