Artsakh National Assembly member Metakse Hakobyan criticized the Armenian authorities for prosecuting high-ranking clergy, including Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan, calling the charges against them absurd and politically motivated.

In comments to reporters, Hakobyan stated that the government is using such prosecutions to mask its own failures. “Criminals rush to label others as criminals in an effort to downplay their own responsibility. But the truth is that they assign blame selectively. For example, the people of Artsakh and Armenian soldiers are blamed for the surrender of Artsakh, while clergy are blamed for domestic issues in Armenia,” she said, as reported by Aysor.am .

She emphasized that the current authorities are the sole culprits behind the country's disasters, yet manage to pressure society and scapegoat others. “In reality, everything is far simpler than they try to make it seem. But they’ll use convoluted mechanisms to confuse it all. Look at the absurd charges they’re piling onto all the bishops,” Hakobyan added.

Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan was arrested on December 4 at the National Security Service’s Investigative Committee building. He is charged under Article 393, Part 2, Points 1 and 4 of the Criminal Code. His lawyer stated that the archbishop had anticipated such developments in advance.