YEREVAN. – The candlelight vigil at Liberty Square in Armenia’s capital city of Yerevan, and in memory of six-month-old Seryozha—the youngest member of the Avetisyan family who were brutally killed recently in Gyumri city—, continues on Wednesday.

While the baby boy is being laid to rest in Gyumri on this day, the Yerevan residents are praying for his soul with tears in their eyes, and placing toys, candles, and flowers on the steps of the Yerevan Opera House.

The capital city residents told Armenian News-NEWS.am that the authorities should have declared a day of mourning at least on Wednesday.

“[But] it’s just that our authorities are afraid to offend the Russians,” a candlelight vigil participant noted, in particular.

As reported earlier, six members of the Avetisyan family—including a two-year-old girl—were shot dead, and a six-month-old baby—Seryozha Avetisyan—was wounded in their house in Gyumri on January 12; but the baby boy died in hospital 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 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.” The Investigative Committee of Armenia also has launched a criminal case on these murders.

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia had stated 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.