Criminal Case Against the Supreme Patriarch and Members of the Supreme Spiritual Council, Lawyer Says

A disgraceful criminal case has been filed against the Supreme Patriarch and members of the Supreme Spiritual Council, announced lawyer Ruben Melikyan.

“Today it became public that a criminal case has been initiated by the Investigative Committee, effectively prosecuting the Supreme Patriarch and the members of the Spiritual Council. If we examine the case, we will see that it concerns a minor offense, with a potential imprisonment term of up to 2 years. In the case of a first-time offense, another article stipulates that imprisonment cannot be applied, meaning this is a special message. The goal is to impose a restrictive measure preventing the Supreme Patriarch and members of the Supreme Spiritual Council from leaving the country. In this way, they are obstructing the natural processes of the Armenian Apostolic Church and attempting to hinder the convening of the Episcopal Assembly. We can expect such disgraceful actions,” he noted.