Gyumri: two Russian base soldiers held in Armenian custody over assault on a Ukrainian
- Published
- Place
- Gyumri, Armenia
- Event date
- Past event —
Summary
Two servicemen from Russia’s 102nd military base in Gyumri are being held in an Armenian prison, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service (Azatutyun) revealed on 9 November. A Ukrainian citizen, Dmytro Samuelenko, filed a police complaint on 10 October, saying two men had beaten him in Gyumri’s Ani district. The Investigative Committee opened a case for group violence and ordered a forensic medical examination. The two servicemen are charged with causing minor bodily harm as a group. Their names have not been released and the motive remains unknown. The committee said the case is unrelated to a video of violence that recently circulated online. Neither the Russian base nor the Russian embassy in Yerevan has commented.
Analysis
The custody itself is a break with the past. Until now, Russian servicemen suspected of crimes in Armenia were held at the base during investigations and trials. In 2015, Valery Permyakov, a soldier who killed seven members of an Armenian family in Gyumri, was kept at the base and later transferred to Russia to serve the life sentence handed down by an Armenian court. Rights activist Artur Sakunts has also sent prosecutors another video showing apparent Russian soldiers beating a young man.
Possible consequences
The Gyumri base, with several thousand personnel, operates under an agreement extended in 2010 until 2044.
