Lawyer warns Catholicos Karekin II could be detained soon

Human rights lawyer Ruben Melikyan warns that the Armenian authorities could move to detain the leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Karekin II, as soon as on Monday or Tuesday.

In a Facebook live video on Saturday, Melikyan alleged that the government might carry out the "abduction" operation on October 27, the date marking Karekin II’s enthronement in 1999, citing what he described as the administration’s use of “Azerbaijani-Turkish tactics".

Melikyan said officials could also search the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the church’s headquarters, though it would require serious legal grounds.

He claimed the government has struggled to build public support for a plan to remove Karekin II and has instead resorted to reviving an alleged 2023 audio recording to launch a criminal case against him.

The warning comes days after several Armenian clergymen were detained. Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, Primate of the Aragatzotn Diocese, has been remanded in custody for two months on charges that he allegedly forced clerics to attend anti-government protests in 2021.