Application Filed to Extend the Detention of the Accountant of the Aragatsotn Diocese

The Investigation Committee has applied to the court to extend the detention of Naira Alaverdyan, a 60-year-old accountant of the Aragatsotn Diocese. This was reported by the ‘Zhoghovurd’ newspaper.

“The deadlines for the detention of Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, the head of the Aragatsotn Diocese, and Father Karekin Arsenyan, the diocese's secretary, will also expire soon, and it is possible that the investigative agency will either announce the completion of the preliminary investigation and send the case to court, or extend the detention periods again,” the report states.

It was noted that on the early morning of October 15, law enforcement agencies conducted a search at the residence of Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan and subsequently took him into custody. Along with the bishop, 12 priests of the Aragatsotn Diocese were also detained: Father Paren Arakelyan, Father Hayk Kocharyan, Father Mkrtich Yeranyan, Father Manuk Zeynalyan, Father Ghevond Gapoyan, Father Hayk Sahakyan, Father Sargis Sargsyan, Father Karekin Arsenyan, Father Narek Sargsyan, Father Oshun Hayrapetyan, Father Vrtanes Baghalyan, Father Hambardzum Danielyan, the accountant, the treasurer, and the estate manager of the diocese.

According to the RA Investigation Committee, the priests were detained on suspicion of materially incentivizing participation in or refusal to participate in the gathering. A criminal case was initiated based on statements made by Priest Aram Asatryan of the Aragatsotn Diocese in a broadcast on Public Television (Asatryan stated that the diocesan leader forced him and other priests to participate in opposition protests in 2021).

Daniel Ioannisyan, the head of the Civil Society Institute, has appealed to the RA Attorney General, drawing attention to the priest's statements. The Mother See responded to the incident, stating that it is impossible to intimidate clergy and faithful people with fraud, threats, and coercion,” the newspaper writes.