EU accused of ignoring persecution of Armenian Church

Etchmiadzin Cathedral. Photo: Wikipedia

Armenia’s opposition is preparing a lawsuit against the European Union over its support for Nikol Pashinyan’s government despite systematic persecution of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Christian Today reports.

The law firm representing Armenian opposition figure Samvel Karapetyan accused Brussels of abandoning neutrality and aiding attacks on the clergy. According to the lawyers, Brussels continues to portray Pashinyan’s cabinet as a “democratic success story” despite mass arrests of bishops and restrictions on the freedom of movement of the head of the Armenian Church.

Robert Amsterdam, the firm’s managing partner, said the EU had sided with a government that is systematically dismantling democratic safeguards and persecuting its critics. Opposition representatives stressed that the EU’s actions had helped shield the Armenian authorities from accountability for violations of believers’ rights.

The conflict between the state and the Church in Armenia entered a “cold war” phase after the country’s defeat in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. Critics of the regime compare the prime minister’s methods to those of Soviet-era dictators seeking full control over religious institutions.

Pashinyan himself justifies the pressure as necessary to fight “anti-state elements” and accuses senior clergy of supporting the violent overthrow of the government.

In response to the accusations, EU representatives referred to the findings of an OSCE mission, according to which Armenia’s recent parliamentary elections offered voters a “genuine choice.” At the same time, Brussels acknowledged a number of problems and called on political actors to use legal mechanisms to resolve disputes.

As the UOJ reported, Russian intelligence services accused the EU of a “malicious attack” on the Russian Orthodox Church in Armenia.

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