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By ruling of the General Jurisdiction Court of Shirak Marz (Region) dated December 9, 2015, the trial on Valery Permyakov’s case will be held at the Russian Federation Military Base № 102. The Court substantiated its ruling by the fact that the defendant was kept at the Russian garrison detention facilities where he served his sentence.

As stated in the Court’s ruling above, by this way it would be possible to ensure the defendant’s presence at the court hearings and guarantee the exercise of his right to a fair trial. The logic behind the General Jurisdiction Court of Shirak Marz (Region) ruling suggests that in all the cases as the defendants were kept at the penitentiary facilities in the Republic and were taken to the courtroom to attend their trials, their right to a fair trial was violated.

Also, considering the issue in terms of Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights stipulating the right to a fair trial, Valery Permyakov’s right to a fair trial cannot be violated in any way, and there is no need for any outgoing court hearing in this case.  Moreover, the fact that Valery Permyakov is kept at the Russian garrison penitentiary facilities already violates both Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights stipulating the right to liberty and security of person, and the regulations of the RA Criminal Procedure Code.

Furthermore, considering that the conditions at the military unit garrison detention facilities cannot meet the standards of penitentiary facilities. Also, it should be borne in mind that Permyakov is kept there under the control of the people about whose “potentially criminal” actions he has information and this is the main reason for his contradictory testimonies that were later adapted to expert opinions.

According to Article 2(2), Article 5(1)(3), Article 6(1), Article 8(2) and (3) of the RA Law on Penitentiary Service and RA Government Decree № 1015 of 2001, the military unit of the Russian Military Base 102 in the RA is not an institution intended by law for keeping detained and arrested persons and does not belong to the RA Ministry of Justice and according to the legislation above, is not considered an isolation cell to keep suspects or accused there. The fact that Permyakov is kept at the detention facilities of the military unit constitutes an apparent violation of the commitments undertaken by the RA before the Council of Europe.

By being kept there, the person is in fact deprived of exercising a number of his rights as laid down by law. Holding Permyakov’s trial at the military unit is illegal and will lead to ineffective investigation, and the only defendant V. Permyakov will be constrained to provide evidence to the Court on the real state of affairs.