YEREVAN. – Hrachya Harutyunyan is not a criminal and Russia must treat him fairly. 

Armenian Analytical Centre on Globalization and Regional Cooperation Director, political scientist Stepan Grigoryan noted the aforesaid during a press conference on Thursday. 

He stressed that Armenia’s ambassador to Russia and a deputy FM of the country should visit Harutyunyan. The political scientist also argued that a process of extradition should get underway and Harutyunyan should be returned to Armenia before the court trial.  

“Russia is politicizing this matter. We are not so naïve to expect a fair trial. We have to return Hrachya Harutyunyan [to Armenia]. If he is guilty, let them try [him]. But why such belittling treatment? There is the presumption of innocence,” Grigoryan said.     

The analyst also raised a question concerning the actual state of the bus driver; as to whether or not he was drunk at the time of the accident. Because, as per Grigoryan, even though the truck was coming toward the bus, the bus driver did not take any action.  

Stepan Grigoryan expressed a view that, with this incident, Russia attempted to create an anti-immigrant wave, to subsequently resolve some matters.  

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. 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, he was brought to the courtroom with slippers and a women’s robe. This fact caused widespread discontent among the Armenian public, and protests were staged across the Russian Embassy in Armenia.              

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am