Lawyer: "Chief Investigator" "instructed" to search the place where  we, as Christians, enter with reverence

ArmInfo.Ara Zohrabyan, the lawyer for the head of the Shirak Diocese, Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, is confident that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan  is  personally directing the actions of the investigative bodies, the prosecutor's office, and the court in their attacks on the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC). He expressed his stance in a post on his Facebook page, questioning the reasons  behind the Armenian authorities' desire to conduct searches in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

 "I have no doubt that  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan himself is  leading the actions of the investigative bodies, the prosecutor's  office and the court. As we learned today from Nikol Pashinyan's  public post, a search is being prepared at the Mother See of Holy  Etchmiadzin. The "chief investigator" has  "instructed" to search the  place where we, Christians, enter with reverence," the lawyer noted.

He also noted that typically during a search, the investigator  arrives unexpectedly to prevent any objects or materials of interest  to the investigation from being hidden. However, in this case, the  search has been announced in advance. "It raises a question, why? I  see two reasons. The first is that the "chief investigator" intends  to desecrate the Mother See of Etchmiadzin with an unprecedented  action, or the second is that something may need to be fabricated  (both options are possible). And he publicly presents this idea to  gauge the public's reaction. Will they protect the Mother See of  Etchmiadzin from him or not? All the red lines have already been  drawn," the lawyer is confident.

Zohrabyan emphasized that the representatives of this government, led  by Nikol Pashinyan, have overthrown the constitutional order. They  have essentially suspended the constitutional norm that guarantees  the separation and balance of legislative, executive and judicial  powers.

He noted that there is a lot of evidence to support this claim. "The  most recent example is when the National Assembly adopted a statement  on July 3, 2025,  "strongly condemning the attempted terrorist act  against the sovereignty, constitutional order and legitimate  authorities of the Republic of Armenia, revealed by the law  enforcement agencies of the Republic of Armenia in June 2025." As you  can see, the National Assembly, grossly violated the norms of the  Constitution which establish principles such as the presumption of  innocence and the administration of justice only by the court. They  have already recorded and condemned the commission of a crime.  Christians, who are the children of the Armenian Apostolic Holy  Church, understand well that these vile actions against the Mother  See will bring great misfortune to our people," Zohrabyan concluded.