Important Evidence Concealed in the Case of Pregnant Woman Hit by Car, Lawyer Says

Important evidence has been concealed from the investigating body in the case concerning the death of pregnant woman Sona Mnatsakanyan, who was hit by a car belonging to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's motorcade. This was stated by Raffi Aslanyan, the representative of the victim's heirs, in an interview with Faktinfo.

According to Aslanyan, the only accused in the case is traffic police officer Aram Navasardyan, while no evaluation has been made regarding the actions or inactions of the head of Pashinyan's motorcade and the deputy head of the National Security Service providing escort.

“The preliminary investigation has been conducted within a highly subjective and predetermined framework. Only driver Aram Navasardyan has been involved as a defendant, and the prosecutor in charge has made an unfounded and premature decision not to initiate criminal proceedings against the head of the special transportation motorcade and the responsible escort leader, which I have appealed to the superior prosecutor,” he said.

Moreover, for the materials of the proceedings, it has been established that the motorcade vehicles used radio communication, the recording of which, it was stated, did not take place due to technical malfunction. It is noted that the content of the radio communication recording is crucial for understanding the nature of the instructions given by those responsible for the speed of the motorcade before and during the escort, and consequently, for providing a proper legal assessment of their actions.

“The victim’s side has reasonable doubts that the failure to provide the radio communication recordings is intended to obstruct the objective course of the criminal proceedings. Furthermore, the recordings are also important for assessing the actions of the culpable traffic police driver after the accident and verifying the validity of his and several other traffic police officers' testimonies,” Aslanyan noted.

According to him, the investigation materials clearly indicate that the investigative body has shown restraint particularly towards the State Protection Service, which has affected the quality of the investigation. As a result of this, a proper legal assessment has not been given to the actions of the head of the escort responsible for the speed of the motorcade, that is, the deputy head of the traffic police service. Additionally, no criminal proceedings have been initiated against the motorcade leader, who was the commander of the relevant traffic police unit at that time of the escort.

It is worth reminding that on April 26, 2022, around 18:05, at the intersection of Leo and Paronyan streets in Yerevan, a driver escorting the Prime Minister hit pregnant Sona Mnatsakanyan. She was taken to the Nairi Medical Center, where she later died without regaining consciousness.