YEREVAN. – The criminal cases, which Armenia and Russia have separately filed against Valery Permyakov, cannot be joined, an international law expert, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

To remind, it was Armenia’s Shirak Region Prosecutor Raffi Aslanyan who first had stated that the two criminal cases may be joined.

“The joining of the cases is impossible even technically. For example, [the] ‘murder’ [charge] is Article 104 in Armenia’s criminal code, whereas [Article] 105 in Russia’s criminal code. How will this action be qualified in the ‘joined’ case?” the expert rhetorically asked.

In his words, however, it may be solely possible to transfer the files of the two cases to one another, and based on a respective request by the two sides.

To note, the Armenian side possesses the main evidence in connection with the murder of the Avetisyan family.

As reported earlier, six members of the Avetisyan family—including a two-year-old girl—were shot dead, and a six-month-old baby boy was wounded in their house in Gyumri, Armenia, on Monday. Valery Permyakov, a serviceman of the 102nd Russian Military Base in the city, stands accused in this crime. Permyakov was apprehended by the Russian border guards near the Armenian-Turkish border, and he was arrested on Wednesday. Valery Permyakov is held in custody at the Russian military base.

The soldier is charged under Russian law, with “the murder of more than two people,” and “desertion with a service weapon.” The Investigative Committee of Armenia also has launched a criminal case on the murders.

The Prosecutor General’s Office had said Permyakov will face justice under Russian law, and this information provoked a wave of protests in Armenia, especially in Gyumri and capital city Yerevan.