The legal team defending Archbishop Mikael, head of the Shirak Diocese, has sharply criticized a recent public statement by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, interpreting it as a directive to law enforcement and prosecutors.

In his statement, Pashinyan wrote: “Especially in this case, no part of the enlarged Vagharshapat community can be closed to law enforcement activities...” The archbishop’s defense team responded by stating that the Prime Minister’s wording amounts to an order or instruction directed at the prosecution and investigative bodies to conduct procedural actions—such as searches or arrests—within the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

The statement adds that Pashinyan’s comments indirectly encourage legal action inside the religious institution. The defense warned that this could be interpreted as executive overreach into the judiciary.

In his original comment, Pashinyan also stated that if “Ktrich Nersisyan considers the arrests of Vazgen Galstanyan and Gevorg Ajapahyan illegal, then he shares their ideology and plans for a coup d'état, executing people by shooting them against walls, and creating chaos in the country.” He further asserted that no space in Vagharshapat should be off-limits to law enforcement—adding a controversial remark implying that, unlike for legal purposes, such areas were not closed “for adultery.”