A Yerevan court has instructed law enforcement to launch a criminal investigation into the detention of clergy from the Aragatsotn Diocese, following a complaint by lawyer Ara Zohrabyan.

Zohrabyan reminded that he had earlier filed a report about the detention of the priests, obstruction of lawyers who came to provide legal assistance, and the concealment of the arrest of Bishop Mkrtich of Aragatsotn. The investigator initially declined to open a case, and the prosecutor upheld that decision.

The First Instance Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan (Judge Tatevik Muradyan) overruled that, instructing authorities to issue a procedural act to rectify the alleged rights violation and open a criminal case based on Zohrabyan’s report.

The court expressed two key positions:

Under Article 491 of the Armenian Criminal Code, “Obstruction of a lawyer’s professional activities, particularly illegal denial of access to a place of detention to meet a client,” is a criminal offense.

While investigators and the prosecutor had narrowly interpreted this to apply only to prisons or detention centers, claiming the priests were only witnesses, the court disagreed. It considered the clergy to have been effectively deprived of liberty regardless of their procedural status, stating:

“The court finds that the report contains factual information that the individuals were ‘brought in’ to an investigative subdivision of the Investigative Committee, meaning they were taken for questioning not of their own will. Thus, the premises can be considered a place of deprivation of liberty.”

The court also noted that the report described how lawyers Armine Fanyan, Marine Farmanyan, and Shushanik Harutyunyan were denied access to the Investigative Committee to meet their clients. The court questioned how investigators could swiftly conclude that the report lacked factual basis and did not warrant a criminal probe.

Furthermore, under Article 451 of the Criminal Code, “Enforced disappearance includes denial or concealment of the deprivation of liberty... by state officials or with state consent.”

The court found that “the report included data showing that defense lawyers were not informed of the detainee’s location, which only became known through the intervention of the Human Rights Defender’s office. The lack of timely information about a person’s detention status, and the need for ombudsman intervention, provide sufficient grounds to warrant criminal proceedings and evidence-gathering actions.”

P.S. The post ends with two pieces of advice for investigators, prosecutors, and judges:

“Before blindly following superiors’ orders, remember that everything is temporary, and accountability before the law will come. Regarding the Church, you will bear a heavy responsibility. If torn between orders and conscience, let the law be your guide.”

On October 15, the Investigative Committee, accompanied by the National Security Service, conducted searches in the Aragatsotn Diocese and the homes of several priests. Dozens of clergy, including Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan and secular staff, were taken to the Investigative Committee. By court order, Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan was placed in two-month pre-trial detention, and Fr. Garegin Arsenyan, head of administration and pastor of St. Gevorg Church in Mughni, was detained for one month. Others were classified as witnesses. The Investigative Committee announced a public criminal case against the bishop for allegedly using his official position to obstruct electoral rights and to coerce participation in rallies.