Mikael Primate's 'Final Words' in Court

This is a political order, a political persecution by the current authorities, openly and blatantly, which fits into their anti-church political agenda. This was stated in court by Mikael, the Primate of Shirak Diocese.

Then the Primate recounted why he is currently there: "Why am I here? It has already been said that all this is a political order, and it dates back to 2018, when Pashinyan said, 'I am becoming Prime Minister,' and I said, 'Not happening.' Since that day, a change in the political approach of this authority towards me began, also after the 'New Armenia, New Catholicos' movement, when they hoped that I would not only lead that movement but would join and so on. The opposite happened, and from that time on, we became a thorn in the side of this government."

Regarding the accusation against him, Mikael noted that he had expressed criticism with great enthusiasm even after November 9, 2020, but those statements were not considered a crime. "He mentioned that during a state of war, I made statements, but they were not considered a crime. In 2021, I said the same things, and it turns out they did not see a crime. In 2022, I gave an interview to 168, but they did not view it as a crime. I said the same thing in 2023; who has given more interviews among the clergy than I have?" the Primate stated.