YEREVAN. – The relevant department of the Ministry of Justice of Armenia examined and processed the petitions by 91 Armenian citizen convicts who serve their sentences abroad, and with a request for their extradition to Armenia, to serve the remainder of their sentences.

The Minister of Justice, Arpine Hovhannisyan, noted about the abovementioned at Monday’s year-end press conference.

To the journalists’ query on whether Armenian driver Hrachya Harutyunyan—who is imprisoned in Russia—also will be transferred to Armenia, the minister said Harutyunyan had submitted such a petition to the Armenian Ministry of Justice, the respective process continues in accordance with the procedures, and the Armenian driver could be transferred to Armenia in the coming year. 

Armenian citizen Hrachya Harutyunyan had pleaded guilty to causing a major traffic accident in Russia. The truck he was driving had crashed into a passenger bus on July 13, 2013 outside capital city Moscow. The impact of the crash was so powerful that the bus had split in two. The accident had claimed 18 lives and injured more than 40 others.

On August 4, 2014, a Moscow district court had sentenced Harutyunyan to 6 years and 9 months in prison on charges of violating traffic and vehicle operation rules and causing death. And the Moscow Municipal Court had upheld this verdict.