The criminal prosecution against 19 citizens, who had been arrested during a rally in Armenia’s city of Gyumri when demanding to hand over to the Armenian side the Russian soldier Valery Permyakov, has been dismissed.

The criminal prosecution has been dismissed on the grounds of the absence of the components of crime, the press-service of the Investigative Committee reports.

The rally, during which stones were thrown at the police, took place on 15 January 2015.

Various activities were carried out in the framework of the incident: over 100 citizens were questioned, expert examinations were commissioned and the scene of incident was inspected.  

Valery Permyakov, a serviceman of the 102nd Russian Military Base in Armenia’s Gyumri town, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Avetisyan family in this town.

The brutal murder took place on January 12, 2015. According to the indictment, Valery Permyakov entered the Avetisyan family home on that day, and he killed home residents Aida Avetisyan, Hasmik Avetisyan, Seryozha Avetisyan, Armen Avetisyan, Araksya Poghosyan, and little girl Hasmik Avetisyan. Subsequently, he stabbed 6-month-old Seryozha Avetisyan five times. The baby boy died in the hospital one week later.