The Court of Appeal released Archbishop Khachatryan.

The court imposed territorial restrictions on Khachatryan, prohibiting him from leaving the Vagharshapat community. The cleric is also prohibited from communicating with witnesses in the case.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on December 4, a lawyer reported the arrest of Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The day before, Khachatryan stated that he did not intend to resign as head of the chancery of Etchmiadzin. He linked his persecution to his position on Armenian government policy.

By decision of Appeals Court Judge Nikoghosyan, Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan was immediately released from custody. Lawyer Arsen Babayan wrote about this today on his Facebook page*.

After his release from the Armenian National Security Service detention center, Khachatryan thanked Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II, clergy, and media representatives for their support throughout this time, News.am reports.

"All scenarios were planned, but there were also surprises. I remember that places of detention were called forced labor camps. I am glad to say that I remain incorrigible; my views and positions have not changed. The end will be good; if not, then it is not the end," Khachatryan stated.

The defense disagreed with the court's decision to impose restrictive measures and intends to appeal it. The lawyers believe there is no reasonable suspicion in the case, Armenia Today reports.

"We cannot say that we are happy with this decision. From the very beginning, we have maintained that there is simply no reasonable suspicion here. The act described in the indictment and the article of the Criminal Code that is being applied are unrelated," the publication quoted lawyer Ruben Melikyan as saying.

Khachatryan was arrested on December 5, 2025. The Investigative Committee of Armenia previously announced the initiation of a criminal case against him under paragraphs 1 and 4 of Part 2 of Article 393 (illegal sale of drugs by a group of persons by prior conspiracy) of the Criminal Code of Armenia.

As a reminder, at the end of January, six clergymen of the Armenian Apostolic Church were charged in a criminal case and are banned from leaving the country. The Church accused the Armenian authorities of interfering in its internal affairs and violating human rights.

On January 4, the leader of the Civil Contract party and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced plans to "improve" the Armenian Apostolic Church, which included removing Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II, adopting a new charter, and electing a new head of the church. After the Christmas service, Pashinyan accused the Catholicos of All Armenians of schism and sectarianism. Harassment of the church undermines the authority of the state, Garegin II stated.

In May 2025, Nikol Pashinyan sharply criticized the church and responded to Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan's objections with insults on Facebook*. Armenian politicians and church representatives have demanded that Pashinyan apologize for insulting the church. The conflict between the Armenian authorities and the Armenian Apostolic Church has been ongoing since 2018, when Pashinyan came to power. This conflict became apparent against the backdrop of the 2020 Karabakh War and the authorities' desire to improve relations with Turkey, according to analysts interviewed by the Caucasian Knot. For more information on the persecution of political opponents of the current Armenian government, see the Caucasian Knot report "Highlights of Political Arrests in Armenia in the Summer of 2025."