Archbishop Khachatryan arrested in drug trafficking case

The court has ordered the arrest of Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan of the Armenian Apostolic Church for two months on drug trafficking charges.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on December 4, his lawyer reported the arrest of Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The day before, Khachatryan stated that he did not intend to resign as head of the chancery of Etchmiadzin. He linked his persecution to his stance on Armenian government policy.

Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan has been arrested for two months, according to his lawyer, Arsen Babayan. According to him, Judge Masis Melkoyan granted the investigator's motion to select a preventive measure, Novosti Armenia reports.

Khachatryan has been charged under paragraphs 1 and 4 of Part 2 of Article 393 of the Criminal Code. "During the pre-trial proceedings, a public criminal prosecution was initiated against the individual under paragraphs 1 and 4 of Part 2 of Article 393 of the Criminal Code (illegal sale of narcotics by a group of persons by prior agreement, committed in a public place)," News.am reported, citing the Investigative Committee of Armenia.

"The charges brought against Archbishop Arshak are simply a mockery of human reason, a mockery of their own people. The authorities' approach is: 'I do what I want, and if you don't want me to, do what you want.'" "This is precisely the principle by which Pashinyan operates," noted Artur Khachatryan, a member of parliament from the Armenia faction.

Khachatryan emphasized that the authorities initially tried to discredit Archbishop Arshak. "But they saw that he was firm, strong, and stood behind the Catholicos, and the Catholicos stood behind him. As a result, this absurd accusation was born. And 'putting something in one's pocket' is a style inherent to other structures," Aysor.Am quotes him as saying.

As a reminder, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan harshly criticized the church at a government meeting on May 29, and responded to Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan's objections with insults on Facebook*. Armenian politicians and church representatives demanded an apology from Pashinyan for insulting the church. In mid-October, Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, head of the Aragatsotn Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and Priest Garegin Arsenyan were arrested on charges of coercion to participate in meetings.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that in mid-November, an Armenian court extended the arrest of businessman Samvel Karapetyan, who is accused of calling for the overthrow of the constitutional order and economic crimes. The owner of Tashir Group, Samvel Karapetyan, was accused of calling for the overthrow of the constitutional order. Before his arrest, Samvel Karapetyan expressed support for the Armenian Apostolic Church after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan harshly criticized the church at a government meeting.

More details on the case of Ajapayan and other political opponents of the current government can be found in the "Caucasian Knot" report "The Main Thing About Political Arrests in Armenia in the Summer of 2025."