Trial opens against Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan

The first court hearing in the case against Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan has begun at the Armavir Regional Court under the chairmanship of judge Gevorg Manukyan.

Khachatryan, a senior cleric of the Armenian Apostolic Church, faces charges dating back to 2018. Prosecutors allege that he instructed an unidentified individual to plant drugs in the backpack of a protester demanding Catholicos Karekin II’s resignation. Authorities contend that it amounted to drug trafficking for distribution.

The archbishop was held in detention for three months during the investigation. His legal team has dismissed the case as politically motivated. Lawyer Arsen Babayan previously described the proceedings as “an unprecedented parody in the history of law”, noting that the alleged narcotics evidence was reported missing from the investigation files.