It Was Not Possible to Save Seryozha’s Life

Seryozha Avetisyan, the six-month-old infant who had survived the attack on his family by Russian soldier Valery Permyakov on January 12 has died in hospital a few minutes ago. He was under the care of specialists in Yerevan’s St. Mary Medical Center.

Earlier today, CivilNet reported that Seryozha had taken a turn for the worse. He was suffering from renal and cardiovascular insufficiency and doctors had decided to put him on peritoneal dialysis. A few days earlier, after consultations with doctors from some of the best hospitals in the world, the medical team decided to perform a ventriculostomy to alleviate intracranial pressure due to life-threatening complications that had arisen.

According to the press office of the Ministry of Health, Russian doctors who had come to Armenia to take part in his care, along with their Armenian colleagues continued to administer the necessary medical care. The infant was under their constant supervision. The specialists spared no effort to stabilize Seryozha’s condition.

In a statement, the hospital administration said that notwithstanding the efforts and interventions by leading local and foreign medical experts, it was not possible to save the infant’s life.

In the early morning hours of January 12, six members of the Avetisyan family were shot in their home and their six-month-old infant Seryozha Avetisyan was stabbed. The accused is Russian soldier Valery Permyakov stationed at the 102nd Russian Military Base in Gyumri. Permyakov was apprehended by Russian military personnel trying to cross the Armenia-Turkey border. He is currently being held in custody at the Russian base. On January 14 and 15 protests took place in Gyumri and Yerevan demanding that the accused be handed over to Armenian authorities and to stand trial in an Armenian court.