Court Hearing Date Revealed for the Catholicos of All Armenians Criminal Case

The criminal case against Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II and six bishops has been assigned to Judge Hakob Manukyan of the first instance general jurisdiction court in Armavir Province. This was reported by attorney Ara Zohrabyan.

According to him, the preliminary trial's first hearing is scheduled for August 7 at 16:00 in Echmiadzin.

The accusations claim that Garegin II, as the president of the Supreme Spiritual Council, used his official authority to obstruct the court's enforcement of a decision regarding provisional measures in a claim. This concerns the decision to defrock the former leader of the Metsamor Diocese, Arman Saroyan.

Ara Zohrabyan stated in the announcement that the criminal prosecution is unlawful and provided his assessments on the relationship between the church and the state, as well as the pressures applied to the Armenian Apostolic Church in recent years, according to his words.

The attorney also argued that the case extends beyond a single criminal proceeding and holds historical and national significance.