New arrests of bishops and priests in Armenia

In the context of fierce opposition to Prime Minister Pašinyan's policies, Bishop Mkrtič, head of the eparchy of Aragatsotn, was also arrested, along with six diocesan priests. Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the first to openly oppose the head of government, has been in prison since June. Lawyers for the Armenian Apostolic Church: serious violation of the law.

Yerevan (AsiaNews) - In Armenia, the direct confrontation between the government and the Apostolic Church continues, with another high-profile arrest, that of the head of the eparchy of Aragatsotn, Bishop Mkrtič (Prošyan), together with six diocesan priests, after a search of their residences, as reported by the director of the Armenian Bar Association, Ara Zograbyan. At present, it is not known where Bishop Mkrtič is being held, and the Investigative Committee is not providing any information on the matter, which, according to the lawyers, constitutes a serious violation of their rights. Zograbyan states that such behaviour by the state authorities qualifies under Article 451 of the Criminal Code, which deals with “disappearance as a result of violence”.

According to Armenian law, this crime is committed when the deprivation of a person's liberty, whether legal or illegal, is denied or covered up in any way, or even by concealing information about their status and place of detention, whether decided by law enforcement officials or other structures acting on behalf of the state or with its support, consent or implicit assent, leaving the disappeared person without the necessary legal defence. Such a violation should be punished with deprivation of liberty for three to seven years, and concerns the treatment not only of the bishop, but also of priests Paren, Manuk, Ayk, Gevond, Mkrtič and Ayk Kočaryan, as well as some faithful and collaborators of the Eparchy of Aragatsotn.

The Council for the Defence of the Armenian Apostolic Church, formed in recent months by supporters of the clergy against the policies of Prime Minister Nikol Pašinyan, has issued a statement strongly condemning the umpteenth ‘systematic persecution of our priests’ by state bodies. Among those arrested, alongside Bishop Mkrtič, is the superior of the Sagmosavank monastery, Father Paren Arakelyan. The Council demands that the police fulfil their duties ‘conscientiously’, responding to the expectations of the entire Armenian society, without submitting to orders imposed by politicians or personal interests.

The spokesperson for the Investigative Committee, Kima Avdalyan, responded to the accusations by stating that ‘during the preliminary investigation into violations of the law concerning the abuse of power and official functions to prevent or coerce various types of demonstrations, the necessary measures were taken to obtain evidence of these crimes, and the results will be made public as soon as possible’. These rather vague explanations seem to confirm the accusations that have long been levelled at the Armenian clergy of conspiring to carry out public or secret actions to undermine state security and overthrow the established powers.

Three weeks ago, the court sentenced the archbishop of the eparchy of Shirak, Mikael Adžpakhyan, who had been under arrest since 28 July and was found guilty of ‘public incitement to a coup d'état in Armenia’. During his preliminary detention, he was not allowed to communicate with the outside world and was finally sentenced to two and a half years' imprisonment.

Earlier, on 26 June, the Investigative Committee announced the arrest of 17 people, all members and leaders of the ‘Holy Struggle’ movement, who were alleged to have participated in terrorist attacks, again with the aim of overthrowing the government and seizing power in the country. Among those arrested, the most prominent figure is Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the first to openly express the Church's opposition to the government in the last two years, along with several priests, former National Assembly deputy David Galstyan, reserve colonel Migran Makhsudyan, and politician Igor Sarkisyan, a member of the Dašnaktsutyun, the ‘Armenian Revolutionary Federation’, one of the oldest movements in Armenia, founded at the end of the 19th century to liberate Armenians from Turkish oppression. The opposition between Church and State is a historical feature of Armenia, depending on the various eras and revolutions, and the arrests in recent months are certainly further fuelling this internal division among the Armenian people.