Overview
- Judge Arman Babakhanyan ordered a one-month pretrial detention for Ambarcum Nersisyan on allegations tied to obstructing pre-election campaigning, with hooliganism also cited by the defense as a charge.
- Earlier, the same judge remanded Nersisyan’s father, Gevorg Nersisyan, for one month after investigators detained both men.
- Municipal candidate Arutyun Mkrtchyan of the Republic party filed the complaint, alleging the catholicos’s relatives blocked campaigning in Vagharshapat on November 1.
- Defense lawyer Ara Zograbyan says surveillance video shows no confrontation, calling the accusations fabricated and politically motivated.
- The Jerusalem Armenian Patriarchate denounced state interference in church affairs and voiced support for Catholicos Garegin II, echoing concern following recent arrests of church allies including Samvel Karapetyan and two archbishops.