DUSHANBE, January 21, 2015, Asia-Plus — Russian news agency Interfax reports a Russian soldier accused of killing seven members of a single family in Armenia will be tried in Armenia.
Interfax notes that most likely the trial will be conducted by a Russian military court.
Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the Russian Investigative Committee, earlier told Interfax that the investigation and criminal proceedings against suspect Valery Permyakov “will be held on Armenian soil.”
However, he said that the proceedings will be conducted in accordance with international law, Russian legislation, and agreements between Russia and Armenia governing Russia”s military base in the city of Gyumri, where Permyakov was stationed and is now being held.
A different source told Interfax the trial will likely be open to the public.
“By Russian law, a court can be open to the public or closed to the public. There is currently no classified information in the case materials, which makes it possible for the judges to hold an open trial,” the source said.
Commenting on the statement by Russian Investigative Committee Director Alexander Bastrykin that the trial of the Permyakov case should be open to the public, the source assumed that “he most likely means an open trial with outside broadcasting. Due to the public opinion and the tendencies in Armenia, the trial will be broadcast online and people will be able to watch it on big screens outside the courtroom.”
Valery Permyakov has confessed to the killings, which sparked angry protests last week in Yerevan and Gyumri by Armenians demanding he be transferred to Armenian custody.
