Armenian court extends detention of Garegin II aide

The court has extended the detention of Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan, head of the Etchmiadzin office, for an additional two months, his lawyer Arsen Babayan told reporters.

Babayan confirmed that the decision was published on February 3, Caliber.Az reports via Armenian media.

Khachatryan was initially arrested on December 5 last year in Yerevan for a two-month period. He became the fourth senior cleric of the Armenian Church to be taken into custody.

According to investigators, in 2018, Khachatryan allegedly planted drugs in the bag of an activist participating in a protest calling for the resignation of Catholicos Garegin II.

In October last year, the Telegram channel Armenian WikiLeaks released a video claiming that Archbishop Khachatryan had engaged in a relationship with his uncle’s wife.

By Jeyhun Aghazada