On 14 April, the Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II stated that the relevant authorities in the country should free the country’s former President Robert Kocharyan in order to avoid “further complications of his health condition” during the coronavirus pandemic, reported the Armenian Radio Free Europe. He also argued that countries around the world are releasing criminal suspects and convicts “not posing a threat to society” these days to prevent them from being infected with coronavirus. 

Kocharyan’s lawyers also took issue with his detention during the coronavirus epidemic: “Kocharyan is in the risk group for coronavirus, as he is over 60 years old and has health problems, but continues to remain in the penal institution, while there are already confirmed cases of COVID-19 there,” they stated, adding that Kocharyan’s imprisonment in light of the current situation is a sign of inhumane treatment. 

On the next day, the 15 April, the Armenian government responded to the Catholicos’ statement. The spokesperson of Armenia’s Prime Minister [Nikol Pashinyan] Mane Gevorgyan stated that the government does not intend to comment on the “hopes and desires” of the Catholicos. Moreover, she recalled a time that the church, or rather, the head of the press service of the Mother See of Etchmiadzin, Priest Vahram Melikyan, vouched for another prisoner.

She was referring to his plea to change the sentence of businessman Samvel Mayrapetyan, who is also involved in the criminal case regarding the events of March 2008. “Mairapetyan left the country under the pretext of treatment in January 2019 and, despite the demand of the investigating authorities and guarantees of Vahram Melikyan, did not return to Armenia,” she said. She added that the government expects that the Mother See of Etchmiadzin will recall the incident with Mairapetyan and provide an explanation.

In January 2019, law-enforcement authorities allowed Mayrapetyan to undergo treatment in Germany for a life-threatening form of pancreatitis. Melikyan and a prominent Armenian academic guaranteed in writing that he will return to Armenia once his treatment in a German clinic is complete. Investigators said in early March that the tycoon is now refusing to present himself before them on “unsubstantiated” grounds.

The deputy parliament speaker Alen Simonyan accused the Catholicos of trying to exert pressure on Armenian courts. “For decades he did not intervene in the imprisonment of various people,” Simonian said, referring to political opponents of Armenia’s former governments. He went even further, saying that thousands of citizens consider it necessary to change the Catholicos.

Gevorg Gorgisyan, a senior lawmaker from the opposition Bright Armenia Party, denounced the verbal attacks. “The Catholicos can make any statement on any believer. Why has he not made [such statements] in the past and why is he making them now? These are legitimate questions that can be put to the Catholicos. But that must be done with utmost respect,” he wrote on social media.

The Mother See defended Garegin’s stance, saying that it is in tune with the church’s “humanist mission and values” and “therefore, it is not appropriate to politicize the position of His Holiness and engage in fruitless debates.” 

On the same day [15 April]  a charge was brought against the Vicar of the Araratian Patriarchal Diocese, Archbishop Navasard Ktchoyan. Based on available information, in the summer of 2010, Ktchoyan, acting in conspiracy with his godson to create a scheme surrounding his diamond mines in Africa. It included processing and selling the extracted diamond raw material in the Republic of Armenia. This sparked interest of an Armenian entrepreneur who was encouraged to become involved and invested 11.442.068.000 drams. Afterwards, Ktchoyan obtained the right to real estate belonging to the entrepreneur and his close ones, obtained and freely possessed large amounts of money by concealing and distorting the source, movement and pertinence of those funds through several bank and commercial transactions, transfers and conversions. To legalize the incomes received through crime, Ktchoyan used the company established in an offshore zone in the spring of 2010, and 33% of the shares of the company belonged to Ktchoyan.

Archbishop Navasard Ktchoyan, did not admit guilt in the act he was accused of, and considers the accusation groundless and far-fetched. “This is beyond the legal plane. He said that he has no evidence,” claimed his lawyer. He also said that Archbishop Ktchoyan was questioned in 2010 as a witness. “All this is extremely incomprehensible and illogical when we entered the investigator’s office.” Invited to the SNB investigation department. Naturally, we did not know in what status, most likely, it would be logical to assume that this did not happen [and he was] immediately charged,” he added. 

The current tally of Covid-19 infected persons in Armenia stands at 1159, with 18 reported deaths.