A soldier serving at a Russian military base in Armenia has reportedly been charged with beating an Armenian woman to death.
The 57-year-old woman, Julieta Ghazarian, was attacked on a street in Gyumri and died during her transfer to a local hospital early on December 2.She worked as a street sweeper in Armenia’s second largest city home to the headquarters of the Russian base.
The 23-year-old soldier from the base was arrested on December 10 in connection with Ghazarian’s violent death. Lawyers for the victim’s daughter Anahit told RFE/RL’s Armenian service that Armenian law-enforcement bodies have charged him with brutal assault and involuntary manslaughter.
Under Armenia’s Criminal Code, such crimes are punishable by between five and ten years in prison.
It remains unclear what caused the incident. Armenian prosecutors have so far refused to give any details of the criminal investigation overseen by them. They have not even clarified whether the suspect was taken into Armenian or Russian military custody.
According to Anahit Ghazarian’s lawyers, the soldier, identified by them as A.R., is held at the Russian base despite being prosecuted under Armenian law. The soldier’s Armenian attorney, Narine Rshtuni, confirmed the information.
Rshtuni said she has spoken to her client and been present at some of the “investigative actions” taken by law-enforcement bodies. She declined to give any details.
In 2015, another Russia soldier murdered seven members of an Armenian family in Gyumri. A local court in August 2016 sentenced private Valery Permyakov to life in prison.
Permyakov too was held in detention at the Russian base before and during his trial. He was transferred to Russia to serve his sentence.
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