Death of Sona Mnatsakanyan: Court of Cassation rejects appeals, 18-month sentence becomes final
- Published
- Place
- Yerevan, Armenia
- Event date
- Past event —
Summary
Armenia’s Court of Cassation has refused to examine the appeals of both the victim’s family and the defence in the case over the death of Sona Mnatsakanyan. The verdict against Major Aram Navasardyan is therefore final: one year and six months in prison. On 26 April 2022, at around 6 pm, Sona Mnatsakanyan, 28 and pregnant, was hit in Yerevan by a car from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s motorcade; she died in hospital. The trial court convicted the driver on 30 July 2025, and the appeals court upheld the sentence on 19 May 2026. The family’s lawyer, Raffi Aslanyan, announced the decision on 31 October.
Analysis
The young woman’s parents had asked for four years in prison. Their lawyer called the sentence “manifestly lenient and disproportionate” and said efforts were being made “at the highest level” so that it is not actually served. More than four years after her death, no sentence had yet been carried out, as there was no final verdict.
Possible consequences
With the verdict now final, the prison sentence should in principle be enforced. The case has been closely followed in Armenia since 2022, as it involves a vehicle assigned to the prime minister’s security.
What remains uncertain
The text of the Court of Cassation’s decision has not been published; it is known through the family’s lawyer. The defence had not commented publicly as of 1 November, and the date the sentence will be enforced is unknown.
