Overview
- The cabinet approved a Land Code amendment that ends free transfers of state or municipal land into church ownership while keeping the church’s right to use such land without charge.
- Minister David Khudatyan presented the bill, which the government sent to parliament for consideration.
- The government ordered the abolition of the company that transmits the Shogakat channel and set a 15‑day deadline to form a liquidation commission and transfer the entity’s assets.
- Current Time, citing RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, reported the liquidation of Shogakat is slated to take effect on January 1, 2026, with officials pointing to October 2025 audiovisual law changes as the basis.
- The actions come during a dispute in which Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has pressed for Catholicos Garegin II’s departure, and media report four senior clerics are in custody as well as the arrest of businessman Samvel Karapetian drawing diaspora criticism.