Lawyer: Armenian court orders criminal investigation into hooliganism  during protest initiated by Pashinyan at  Mother See of Holy  Etchmiadzin.

ArmInfo. The Armavir Regional Court of First Instance, presided over by Judge Serzh Rushanyan, has ordered the initiation of a criminal case regarding acts of hooliganism during the protest initiated by Armenian Prime  Minister Nikol Pashinyan on December 18, 2025, at the Mother See of Etchmiadzin, as reported by lawyer Ara Zohrabyan on his Facebook page.   He recalled that on December 17, 2025, 10 bishops who had joined  Pashinyan's anti-church campaign issued a statement calling on  citizens to join them at the Mother See of Etchmiadzin on December  18, 2025, at 5:00 PM and demand the resignation of Catholicos of All  Armenians Karekin II. That day, as Zohrabyan noted, one of the  protesters, Tavros Sapeyan, the mayor of the Talin community,  attempted to jump on the procession of clergy leaving the Mother See  of Etchmiadzin, including the Catholicos of All Armenians.  However,  failing to achieve his goal, he began shouting obscenities at the  clergy.

 "Following this disgraceful incident, a formal complaint was filed.  However, after review, the investigative body decided not to initiate  a criminal case, and the Prosecutor's Office subsequently rejected  the appeal.  Nevertheless, the Armavir Court of First Instance, under  Judge Serzh Rushanyan, has now ruled to grant the appeal. The court  has ordered the relevant authorities to initiate criminal proceedings  and conduct a preliminary investigation," the lawyer stated.

Specifically, according to Zohrabyan, the court noted that these  actions contained elements of a crime that could reasonably be  classified under Article 297 of the Criminal Code of Armenia (which  defines and penalizes hooliganism). Furthermore, the court emphasized  the significance of the location where the acts occurred, noting that  the setting is a decisive factor in the preliminary legal assessment  of the elements of hooliganism.