Appeal against sentence for Russian killer of Armenian family set for November 10

A court in Armenia will consider an appeal against the life sentence given to the Russian soldier Valery Permyakov, who had killed seven members of a family in the city of Gyumri, RIA Novosti reports, quoting the press-service of the Armenian Justice Department.

The appeal lodged on September 7 is connected with charges of attempted border crossing, attorney Eduard Agadzhanyan said earlier.

On August 23, a court in Armenia sentenced Permyakov to life in prison. He was found guilty on all accounts including murder, assault related to robbery and attempt to cross the border illegally.

As Permyakov had pleaded guilty to the murder, the lawyer could not appeal these charges, according to legal ethics. That’s why Agadzhanyan has lodged an appeal against the sentence regarding attempted border crossing.

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 the Armenian town of Gyumri, was arrested and later charged with the murder of two or more persons under the Armenian Criminal Code.