Prosecutor Khachatur Galstyan resigned due to the case against Catholicos Karekin II

Brief retelling from RIA II

Prosecutor Khachatur Galstyan, who was supposed to support the prosecution in the case of Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II and six bishops, wrote a letter of resignation.

Deputy Prosecutor General Aram Aramyan was appointed state prosecutor in the case.

The prosecutor's office said that Galstyan's dismissal was not related to the case of the Catholicos and that Galstyan himself began the criminal prosecution.

YEREVAN, September 5 - RIA Novosti. The Armenian prosecutor, who was supposed to support the prosecution in court as part of the trial against Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II and six bishops, wrote a letter of resignation, local TV channel 5TV reports.

“According to our information, the prosecutor in the case of the Supreme Patriarch and bishops, Khachatur Galstyan, wrote a letter of resignation and left his job,” the message says.

An informed source told the media that initially the leadership of the prosecutor's office assured Galstyan that the case was hopeless, would be dropped at the preliminary investigation stage and he would not have to publicly defend the charges brought in court. However, the case was sent to court, and Galstyan was presented with a fact: either write a statement and leave, or defend the accusation.

“According to our information, Deputy Prosecutor General Aram Aramyan has been appointed as the state prosecutor in the case,” the statement says.

Meanwhile, the prosecutor's office confirmed to the media that Galstyan no longer works and resigned of his own free will, but added that his departure is not related to the Catholicos' case. They assured that the criminal prosecution was started by Galstyan himself and it was he who sent the indictment to the court.

Previously, under various pretexts, three judges refused to consider the case of the Catholicos.

The Investigative Committee of Armenia opened a criminal case after Karekin II’s decision to defrock Bishop Gevorg Saroyan, who supported the republican authorities in the conflict with the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC). The case was opened under the articles “Non-execution of a judicial act or obstruction of its execution” and “Inducement to non-execution of a judicial act.”

In particular, the Investigative Committee claims that the court in Armenia prohibited the AAC from “preventing Bishop Saroyan from exercising his powers as leader of the Masyatsotn diocese.” Together with the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, six other members of the Supreme Spiritual Council of the Armenian Apostolic Church are involved in the case.

The defense argues that the state cannot determine whether a particular person, regardless of the decision of the highest canonical authority of the church, should continue to be considered a bishop, otherwise it would be an usurpation of the final decision on the question of ecclesiastical status and unlawful interference in the affairs of the church.