YEREVAN. -- The sources of Armenian News-NEWS.am have informed that the Prosecutor General of Armenia, Gevorg Kostanyan, on Tuesday petitioned to his Russian colleague, with a letter.

According to our information, Kostanyan has petitioned to the Russian attorney general in connection transferring to the Armenian side the proceedings of the criminal case against Russian soldier Valery Permyakov, who is the accused in the murder of seven people in Armenia’s Gyumri city.

If the criminal case, which is opened on charges of desertion, is transferred to the Armenian side, this will mean that solely the Armenian side will conduct the investigation into this tragedy, and Permyakov may be handed over to the Armenian law enforcement.

As reported earlier, six members of the Avetisyan family—including a two-year-old girl—were shot dead, and a six-month-old baby was wounded in their house in Gyumri on January 12; and the baby boy died in hospital on January 19.

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 on the same night, he was arrested on January 14, and he 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.” And on January 21, the Investigative Committee of Armenia also filed a criminal charge against Permyakov, and with “premeditated murder of two or more persons.” The Russian soldier has accepted the charges.

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia had stated earlier, however, that Valery Permyakov will face justice under Russian law, and this information had provoked a wave of protests in Armenia, especially in Gyumri and capital city Yerevan, and with a demand that Permyakov be handed over to the Armenian law enforcement.