Lawyer Arsen Babayan announced that the Criminal Court of Appeals, chaired by Judge Vache Margaryan, has rejected the appeal against the detention of Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan, Chancellor of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. As a result, he will remain in custody.

Babayan stated the ruling was not unexpected, given the context of the case: “This was, of course, entirely unsurprising. It’s telling that even after reviewing the prosecutor’s decision to initiate prosecution, it is evident that no crime has been committed. Even if the alleged events described in the ruling had actually occurred, which they have not, no criminal act would be present,” he wrote.

Archbishop Arshak was detained for two months on December 5.

Earlier, Babayan had said during a Facebook livestream: “The allegation is that, in 2018, during one of the protests against the Catholicos, the Archbishop allegedly instructed someone to place narcotics in a protester’s bag to discredit them. The absurdity begins here. The article on illegal drug distribution, quickly applied, has nothing to do with the described facts. Even the investigators seem to contradict this, stating the goal wasn’t drug distribution but to discredit someone by planting drugs.”