The legal team representing His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, has called for an immediate end to the criminal prosecution against him and six senior clergymen, arguing that the case forms part of broader pressure on the Armenian Apostolic Church and its autonomy.
In a statement issued by attorney Ara Zohrabyan, the legal team said the latest hearing in the case had once again been postponed, while Karekin II remains prohibited from leaving Armenia.
“We demand an immediate end to this criminal prosecution and the lifting of the ban on the Catholicos leaving the country, so that he may visit his communities around the world and fully discharge his pontifical duties,” the statement said.
According to the legal team, the case concerns Karekin II’s decision to defrock a bishop, an action it says falls within his exclusive canonical authority. Prosecutors have characterized the decision as obstructing the enforcement of a court order granting interim relief in a civil case.
The statement argues that the underlying civil court order itself interferes with the Church’s internal affairs and autonomy and says the criminal prosecution “could not lawfully have been initiated.”
The lawyers also linked the case to a wider confrontation between the authorities and the Armenian Apostolic Church, pointing to the removal of “History of the Armenian Church” from school curricula, the removal of clergy from the armed forces and penitentiary institutions, disputes over church governance and liturgy, and criminal cases involving clergy.
“In our assessment, this is a state campaign to establish control over an independent religious institution with communities around the world and to remove its leadership through the use of state power, intimidation and public humiliation, in violation of the Church’s right to self-governance,” the statement said.
The legal team said public attacks by Nikol Pashinyan and his political team target both Karekin II and the Church’s system of self-governance.
“This is an attack on religious freedom,” the statement said, calling on the international community to respond publicly and independently monitor the proceedings.
The lawyers said they are not asking international actors to take sides in Armenia’s domestic political disputes, but to assess the case “through the lens of religious freedom and the rule of law.”
Read the full statement on attorney Ara Zohrabyan’s Facebook page.
