Avetisian family (Source: Massis Post)

MOSCOW (Rapsi News)—Legal successors of the Avetisyan family murdered in Gyumri in 2015 have lodged a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against Russia, Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly’s Vanadzor office informs.

The family, including a six-month-old baby, was killed as a result of an armed assault on January 12, 2015. Valery Permyakov, a soldier at a Russian base in Gyumri, was arrested and later charged with the murder of two or more persons under the Armenian Criminal Code.

On August 12, 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 has pleaded guilty to killing seven members of the family.

In late June, a court in Armenia dismissed a lawsuit filed by the killed family successors seeking €450,000 in compensation from Russia for moral harm.

In the application filed with the ECHR, the successors alleged that their rights had been violated under Article 2 (Right to Life) and Article 13 (Right to Effective Remedy) of the European Convention of Human Rights.

They claim that Russia has not fulfilled its obligation for prevention of obvious threat to the victims’ lives, allegedly knowing that Permyakov could not be conscripted into the army and had no right to use the weapon. They also insist in the complaint that Russia has not informed Armenian law enforcement officers about Permyakov’s desertion in time.

The fact that the successors of the Avetisyan family have not received access to investigation conducted by Russian authorities is mentioned among procedural faults. Thus, the applicants do not have the right to file motions, challenge investigators’ decisions, etc.