According to the guilty verdict of Father Vrtanes Baghalyan, priest of St. Hovhannes Church in Byurakan, the statement made by the former spiritual pastor of Hovhannavank, now suspended from his post, Stepan Asatryan, on Public Television on September 16, was compiled by the Investigative Committee.
As a reminder, Asatryan stated that in 2021, the Armenian Apostolic Church “existed coercion” to participate in pre-election rallies of one of the political parties.
“Nikol Pashinyan gave instructions to the Investigative Committee, and the Investigative Committee prepared the very statement with Asatryan, on the basis of which the arrests began.” “They are trying to fabricate a case against the Primate of the Aragatsotn Diocese, Archbishop Mkrtich, and implicate other clergy,” Father Vrtanes said.
According to Father Vrtanes, the fabrication process continues, with the authorities working together to identify other clergy.
“Stepan Astaryan’s team is working to frame some of our diocese… A thousand shame on Stepan, who gave false testimony, a thousand shame on this grant-seeking, false human rights defender (Daniel Ioannisyan – ed.), and on those officials who are deeply mired in this illegal activity. If Nikol continues in this vein, we will have nine bishops leading dioceses in Armenia, three of whom he has already caught, and within two years, he will have jailed all the primates of Armenia’s dioceses.”
As a reminder, following Stepan Asatryan’s statement, the Union of Informed Citizens, coordinated by Daniel Ioannisyan, filed a criminal complaint with the prosecutor’s office on September 17, which led to the initiation of a criminal case, which also resulted in the detention of Bishop Mkrtich, Primate of the Aragatsotn Diocese, for two months.