A court in Armenia sentenced the relatives of the Catholics.
The court of the Armavir district of Armenia sentenced the brother and sister of the Catholicos of All Armenians Garkin II - Geborg and Embertom Narsisyan to a suspended sentence.
Geborg Narcissian was sentenced to a suspended sentence of 3 years in prison with a probationary period of two years, Avmertzum Narcissian was sentenced to a suspended sentence of 3 years and 5 months of probation until his one-year-old daughter reaches the age of six.
The brother and nephew of the Catholicos were arrested on charges of disrupting the electoral system during the mayoral elections in the city of Echmiadzin in November 2025. They were later placed under house arrest and released under administrative supervision in May 2026.
According to the court, in November 2025, relatives of the Catholicos prevented a representative of the Republic Party from campaigning before the municipal elections in Wagerschaft.
The defense stated that the video recordings released from the scene of the incident testify to the baselessness of the charges filed and false testimony. The testimony of Ambertom Narsainian revealed that the whole "obstruction" was in the fact that on November 1, he and his father politely refused the request of a certain Gernik Gazarian (who has the status of a witness in the case) to attend a meeting with the candidate from the "Republic" party Harution Makarchian.
Until the ruling enters into force, administrative supervision, bail and the prohibition of absence in relation to the relatives of the Catholics remain. The decision can be appealed within a month.
Earlier in Armenia, the prime minister launched a campaign against churches and declared the need for the Catholics to renounce all Armenians Karkin II. The representatives of the governing party of the Civil Contract, led by Pashinyan, refuse to recognize Gargin II as Catholicos and call him by his world name - Katrich Narsisyan. An investigative committee was established in the Armenian Parliament on the subject of the "Crisis in the Armenian Church".