Pashinyan: Govt didn’t ensure law’s strict enforcement in Permyakov case

During the sitting of Armenia’s National Assembly today, the deputy of Armenian National Congress (HAK) opposition faction Nikol Pashinyan asked government members a question about the detention circumstances of Russian soldier Valery Permyakov charged with killing brutally the Avetisyan family in Gyumri.  

“Why wasn’t the enforcement of the law ensured? How was Permyakov transported in Armenian territory to the Russian military base?” the deputy asked. He quoted the provision of the Law on the State Border of Armenia, under which the frontier violator was to be handed over to Armenian law enforcers.

“Will Permyakov be handed over to law enforcement agencies of Armenia? Both our legislation and international agreements say that a person who attempts to violate the state border shall be handed over to Armenian law enforcement agencies. Now I am asking a simple question: Why didn’t your government ensure the strict enforcement of the law?” the deputy asked.

In response to the question, Armenian Justice Minister Hovhannes Manukyan said that at the moment Russian and Armenian investigative bodies are conducting investigations of the cases with separate corpuses delicti. 

In his words, political, emotional and other issues may be dangerous and hinder the legal processes. The minister said that a format of cooperation was set between the respective bodies of Armenia and Russia.

“The government expresses its willingness to assist – within the scope of its powers - with the solution of the issue, and it will correspond to establishment of justice,” the justice minister said. 

Pashinyan was dissatisfied with his answer.

“Nobody expected you to mount the parliament rostrum and make a political or emotional statement. I asked a clear question: Why didn’t your government ensure strict enforcement of the law?” the deputy said.

Minister Manukyan clarified that the government will do everything to satisfy the public in terms of establishing justice.