Court upholds current  restraint measure for Archbishop Arshak

ArmInfo.Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan, Chancellor of the Mother See of Etchmiadzin, will remain  under a travel ban with administrative supervision. The Armenian court has upheld the preventive measure against the high-ranking cleric.

"To uphold Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan's preventive measure, with  all restrictive measures remaining in place," the judge read the  ruling during a regular court hearing.

During the hearing, the prosecutor petitioned for arrest as a  preventive measure against the archbishop. The defense, in turn,  asked for the lifting of all restrictive measures due to the lack of  evidence proving their client's guilt.

Recall, on March 5, the Court of Appeals ordered the immediate  release of Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan. The high-ranking cleric was  arrested on December 4, 2025, in connection with drug trafficking,  and on December 5, 2025, by a court decision, he was remanded in  custody for two months. As Arshak Khachatryan's lawyer, Arsen  Babayan, reported at the time, the archbishop was accused of  instructing his employee he had ordered marijuana to be put in the  bags of members of the "New Armenia, New Patriarch" movement in order  to discredit them. The lawyer called the accusation absurd,  emphasizing that by bringing such charges against Archbishop Arshak,  the investigation is attempting to discredit him in the eyes of the  public.