A Russian legislator visiting Armenia on March 28 said a Russian soldier suspected of leaving a Russian military base in Armenia and killing seven Armenia civilians in a nearby town will be tried by a Russian military court in Armenia.
Russian soldier Valery Permyakov is accused of deserting the base on the evening of January 12, taking his weapon, and going to the town of Gyumri, where he allegedly killed six members of a family and seriously wounded an infant who died later at a hospital.
Oleg Lebedev, the deputy head of the Russian Duma's Committee for CIS Affairs, met with Armenian lawmakers in Yerevan to discuss the arrangements for Permyakov's trial
A member of Armenia's National Assembly, Aleksandr Arzumanian, repeated the demand of Armenian authorities that Permyakov be handed over and tried in an Armenian court, arguing the crime was committed on Armenian territory not on the grounds of the Russian base.
Lebedev told the Armenian officials that Permyakov's trial for homicide would take place in Armenia "as the people of Armenia are requesting" but would be heard by a Russian military court.
Lebedev said Permyakov's actions constituted a "military crime" and so fell under the jurisdiction of Russian laws.