The criminal case against the Catholicos and six bishops, members of the Supreme Spiritual Council, has been sent to the Yerevan Criminal Court.

The criminal case against Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II and six bishops, members of the Supreme Spiritual Council, has been sent from the Armavir Regional Court to the Yerevan Criminal Court. The Judicial Department confirmed this information in an interview with “Pastinfo”, noting that the case was received by the Yerevan Criminal Court today. Data on the transcription is not yet available.

Earlier, we reported that the second judge in the Armavir Regional Court of General Jurisdiction refused to examine the criminal case against His Holiness the Patriarch and members of the Supreme Spiritual Council. First, Judge Manukyan decided to recuse himself, explaining that he was granted a lawyer’s license in that case by lawyer Ara Zohrabyan, after which the case was re-transmitted to Serzh Rushanyan, who on August 28 decided to send the case to the Yerevan Criminal Court.

It should be recalled that a criminal prosecution was initiated against His Holiness the Patriarch as part of the criminal proceedings for failure to execute the judicial act in the case of Arman Saroyan. In particular, the former Primate of the Masyatsotn Diocese, now deposed Bishop Gevorg Saroyan, under his patronymic name Arman Saroyan, filed a lawsuit against the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, demanding to recognize the pontifical decree of Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II to dismiss him from the position of Primate of the Masyatsotn Diocese as invalid and, as a consequence, to restore his position as Primate of the Masyatsotn Diocese. The lawsuit was accepted for proceedings by Judge Edgar Hovhannisyan of the General Jurisdiction Court of Armavir Region. The latter also satisfied the motion to apply security for the claim, temporarily restoring the bishop to the position of Primate of the Masyatsotn Diocese until the final judicial act is made in the case. After this decision, law enforcement officers initiated criminal proceedings for allegedly failing to comply with the judicial act, as a result of which criminal prosecutions were initiated against the members of the Supreme Spiritual Council, and their exit from the Republic of Armenia was prohibited. On February 14, it became known that criminal prosecution had also been initiated against His Holiness the Patriarch, and a preventive measure of a ban on absence was also applied to him.