The court review of the criminal case against Garegin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, and six members of the Supreme Spiritual Council of the Armenian Apostolic Church will not continue. The case has been sent to the First Instance Criminal Court of Yerevan due to a matter of territorial jurisdiction.
Modern.az reports that “Armenpress” and “CivilNet” have released information about this.
According to the information, Judge Serj Rushanyan of the First Instance General Jurisdiction Criminal Court of Armavir region has decided to send the criminal case against Garegin II and six bishops and archbishops of the Supreme Spiritual Council to the First Instance General Jurisdiction Criminal Court of Yerevan, in accordance with the rules of territorial jurisdiction. The decision was made based on the question of whether the court had territorial jurisdiction to hear the case. Garegin II and six clerics are accused of deliberately obstructing the execution of a legal court decision by abusing their official powers. The criminal case stems from a legal dispute that arose regarding the dismissal of Bishop Gevorg Saroyan (secular name Arman Saroyan-ed), the former head of the Masiatsotn diocese. According to a previous court decision, Saroyan was required to be reinstated and not hindered from exercising his powers. The investigation, however, claims that Garegin II and other religious figures obstructed the execution of that court decision.
It should be noted that the initial court hearing for the case involving Garegin II and six bishops was scheduled for August 28. The session was planned to be held in the Vagharshapat building of the Armavir regional court, presided over by Judge Serj Rushanyan. Thus, the next stage of the court proceedings will now take place in the First Instance Criminal Court of Yerevan.
