It is Known When the Court Will Hear the Case of the Primate of Aragatsotn Diocese's Detention

The detention motion of the Primate of the Aragatsotn Diocese, Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, will be reviewed at 00:30. This was announced by the bishop's lawyer, Ara Zohrabyan, on his Facebook page.

The motion will be discussed at the Center of the First Instance General Jurisdiction Criminal Court of Yerevan on October 16 at 00:30, Zohrabyan wrote. The motion has been assigned to Judge Karen Farkhoyan, who is also examining the case of the leader of the 'Sacred Struggle,' Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, and 17 supporters of the movement.

It is worth noting that this morning, law enforcement conducted a search of Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan's home in the Aragatsotn Diocese, subsequently detaining him. In addition to the bishop, 12 priests from the Aragatsotn Diocese and some employees of the bishopric were also detained. Later, the Investigative Committee announced that three individuals had been arrested, one of whom is the diocesan leader.

Public criminal prosecution has been opened against him under two articles of the Criminal Code for using his official position to obstruct the exercise of electoral rights and for coercing participation in gatherings using his powers.

The criminal proceedings were initiated based on statements made by the priest of the Aragatsotn Diocese, Aram Asatryan, during a broadcast on Public Television (Asatryan had claimed that the diocesan leader forced him and other priests to participate in opposition protests in 2021).

Daniel Ioannisyan, the president of the NGO 'Informed Citizens,' has appealed to the Armenian Prosecutor General's Office, drawing attention to the priest's statements.