Armenian activists urge criminal case against PM Pashinyan over insults to Apostolic Church

The Armenian civic group "Hayakve" has formally appealed to Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan, calling for a criminal investigation into Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for insults and interference in the affairs of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC).

The appeal was announced during a Facebook livestream by public figure Avetik Chalabyan, a prominent member of the initiative, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

“We want to draw the attention of the Prosecutor General of Armenia, Anna Vardapetyan, to Pashinyan’s actions, which in our view amount to state interference in the internal affairs of the AAC,” Chalabyan stated. “The Constitution of Armenia guarantees that the state shall not interfere in the affairs of the Armenian Church or any other religious organisation.”

Chalabyan stressed that Pashinyan's public statements must be examined for potential violations of the constitutional principle of religious non-interference, suggesting that a criminal case be launched to investigate whether the prime minister’s remarks are consistent with Armenia’s constitutional framework.

The initiative cited Article 17 of Armenia’s Constitution, which ensures the free operation of religious organisations and explicitly prohibits state interference in their activities. The group insists that the state is constitutionally bound to protect this freedom.

By Khagan Isayev