YEREVAN. – Hrachya Harutyunyan—the Armenian citizen driver who was arrested in connection with the fatal bus crash outside Moscow—cannot be extradited at this phase, Armenian Justice Ministry Press Secretary Karine Kalantaryan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

She stressed that an extradition to Armenia would be possible solely after when the court ruling comes into force.  

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, a truck crashed into a passenger bus on July 13 outside Moscow, and it was found out that the truck driver was an Armenian citizen by the name of Hrachya Harutyunyan, 46. The impact of the crash was so powerful that the bus had split in two. The accident claimed 18 lives and about 50 others were hospitalized. The court had Harutyunyan arrested on Monday.

To note, Hrachya Harutyunyan faces up to seven years in prison. According to one of the theories of the investigation, the cause of the accident was a malfunction in the brakes of the truck.