More than three years after a deadly car accident in Yerevan, the Yerevan City Court sentenced Aram Navasardyan, the lead driver of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s motorcade, to 1.5 years in prison.
Navasardyan was found guilty of fatally striking 28-year-old Sona Mnatsakanyan, who was seven months pregnant at the time,while transporting the prime minister to Parliament in April 2022. Both Mnatsakanyan and her unborn child died shortly after the incident in hospital. The tragedy sparked public outrage in Armenia, especially since neither Navasardyan’s vehicle nor any others in the convoy stopped to help her. A protracted legal process followed, during which the health of Mnatsakanyan’s family members reportedly declined.
On July 30, the court convicted Navasardyan of causing a fatal traffic accident and fleeing the scene. In addition to the prison sentence, he was banned from driving for 1.5 years, ordered to pay $10,000 to the victim’s family, and cover $2,000 in expert examination fees.
The victim’s family had initially sought $26,000 in damages and a four-year prison term. Following the verdict, both the defense and prosecution announced plans to appeal. Navasardyan’s attorney, Ruben Baloyan, stated that his client will begin serving the sentence once the appeal process concludes. He also maintained that Navasardyan had not been speeding and was not at fault.
Meanwhile, Sona Mnatsakanyan’s father, Matsak Mnatsakanyan, criticized the verdict, expressing doubt that Navasardyan would actually serve time. He previously voiced frustration that the officer was only briefly detained and remained in his police role.
The family’s lawyer, Raffi Aslanyan, claimed key evidence had disappeared, particularly convoy radio recordings that might have revealed who authorized Navasardyan to enter the intersection and whether it had been properly secured.
The family argued that if the area had been safely cordoned off, their daughter would never have entered it. The indictment described the victim as “a pedestrian walking calmly” when she was struck.
