Armenian Court of Appeal keeps AAC Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan under arrest

The Criminal Court of Appeal of Armenia has rejected the defense’s appeal against the arrest of Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church’s Chancellery, leaving him in custody. His defense, clergy and opposition forces call the charges of “sale of narcotic substances” against the clergyman absurd and politically motivated.

As Blagovest-info reports with reference to TASS, Archbishop’s lawyer Arsen Babayan informed that the Criminal Court of Appeal, presided over by Vache Margaryan, did not satisfy his appeal. Babayan noted that such a verdict was not a surprise for him.

The decision to arrest Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan for two months was made by the Armenian court on December 5, 2025. The investigation accuses him of “sale of narcotic substances,” while, according to the defense, the matter refers to an event that took place seven years ago. Both the cleric himself and his lawyers, as well as representatives of the clergy and opposition forces are unanimous in their opinion that these charges are fabricated and constitute political persecution.

The Archbishop’s supporters link the case to the large-scale struggle that they claim Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has unleashed against the Armenian Apostolic Church. The ultimate goal of this struggle, they claim, is the resignation of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II.

Recall, earlier we reported that the court in Yerevan sentenced the head of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Archbishop Mikael Ajapakhyan. He was found guilty of public calls to overthrow the constitutional order and sentenced to two years in prison.