Legal successors of the Avetisyan family take the case against Russia to European court of human rights
13.07.2016,
15:36
The relatives of a seven-member family killed in the Armenian city of Gyumri in 2015 by a serviceman from the Russian military base have taken the case against the Russian Federation to the European Court of Human Rights, pastinfo.am reported.
YEREVAN, July 13, /ARKA/ The relatives of a seven-member family killed in the Armenian city of Gyumri in 2015 by a serviceman from the Russian military base have taken the case against the Russian Federation to the European Court of Human Rights, pastinfo.am reported.
The move comes after an Armenian court dismissed their lawsuit filed against Russia seeking 450,000 euros ($500,000) in damages for what their lawyers called the Russian state’s responsibility for the January 2015 killings.
The legal successors to the Avetisyan’s family, Andranik and Narine Poghosyan (who represent Araksya Poghosyan, the aggrieved party in the case) lodged the appeal through the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly’s Vanadzor office, claiming violations of Article 2 (Right to Life) and Article 13 (Right to Effective Remedy) of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).
The appeal was justified on the grounds of violated material and procedural rights enshrined in Article 2. It was found that the state in question did not avert the imminent threat to Poghosyan and her family, knowing in advance that the perpetrator of the crime, Valery Permyakov, was unfit for military service, let alone carrying guns.
It was further found that Russia’s failure to notify Armenian law enforcers of Permyakov’s desertion in due time also contributed to the tragedy. The Russian law enforcement authorities responsible for the probe failed to provide access to the proceeding to their colleagues in Armenia, thus barring all chances of submitting motions, appealing against the inquest bodies’ decision, etc.
No Russian official was held accountable for their failure for informing Armenian law enforcement bodies of Permyakov’s desertion three hours after he was found missing.
It was found that the domestic legislation offers no mechanisms to reinstate the legal successors’ rights. The latter were familiarized with the case details three months after the Russian Investigative Committee completed all the proceedings, and Permyakov was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The family- a middle-aged couple, their daughter, son, daughter-in-law and 2-year-old granddaughter were found shot dead in their Gyumri home in 2015 January morning. The Avetisian family’s seventh member, a 6-month-old baby boy, died of his stab wounds a week later.
Valery Permyakov was arrested when trying to cross the Armenian border and later charged with the murder of two or more persons under the Armenian Criminal Code. On August 12, 2015 Permyakov was found guilty of desertion, theft of weapons and sentenced to 10 years in prison. The murder case was singled out for considering it in a separate procedure and passed to the Armenian authorities.
On October 13, Permyakov was found sane. According to experts, he was not in the heat of passion while committing the crime. He also could recognize the consequences of his actions.
On October 16, Permyakov was additionally charged with armed assault, home-invasion robbery and attempted border crossing. He pleaded guilty to killing seven members of the family. -0-
The move comes after an Armenian court dismissed their lawsuit filed against Russia seeking 450,000 euros ($500,000) in damages for what their lawyers called the Russian state’s responsibility for the January 2015 killings.
The legal successors to the Avetisyan’s family, Andranik and Narine Poghosyan (who represent Araksya Poghosyan, the aggrieved party in the case) lodged the appeal through the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly’s Vanadzor office, claiming violations of Article 2 (Right to Life) and Article 13 (Right to Effective Remedy) of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).
The appeal was justified on the grounds of violated material and procedural rights enshrined in Article 2. It was found that the state in question did not avert the imminent threat to Poghosyan and her family, knowing in advance that the perpetrator of the crime, Valery Permyakov, was unfit for military service, let alone carrying guns.
It was further found that Russia’s failure to notify Armenian law enforcers of Permyakov’s desertion in due time also contributed to the tragedy. The Russian law enforcement authorities responsible for the probe failed to provide access to the proceeding to their colleagues in Armenia, thus barring all chances of submitting motions, appealing against the inquest bodies’ decision, etc.
No Russian official was held accountable for their failure for informing Armenian law enforcement bodies of Permyakov’s desertion three hours after he was found missing.
It was found that the domestic legislation offers no mechanisms to reinstate the legal successors’ rights. The latter were familiarized with the case details three months after the Russian Investigative Committee completed all the proceedings, and Permyakov was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The family- a middle-aged couple, their daughter, son, daughter-in-law and 2-year-old granddaughter were found shot dead in their Gyumri home in 2015 January morning. The Avetisian family’s seventh member, a 6-month-old baby boy, died of his stab wounds a week later.
Valery Permyakov was arrested when trying to cross the Armenian border and later charged with the murder of two or more persons under the Armenian Criminal Code. On August 12, 2015 Permyakov was found guilty of desertion, theft of weapons and sentenced to 10 years in prison. The murder case was singled out for considering it in a separate procedure and passed to the Armenian authorities.
On October 13, Permyakov was found sane. According to experts, he was not in the heat of passion while committing the crime. He also could recognize the consequences of his actions.
On October 16, Permyakov was additionally charged with armed assault, home-invasion robbery and attempted border crossing. He pleaded guilty to killing seven members of the family. -0-
