Relatives of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II have been detained.

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The brother and nephew of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II have been detained on charges of obstructing a campaign and hooliganism.

Gevorg Nersisyan, the brother of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II, and his nephew, Hambardzum Nersisyan, have been detained in Armenia.

A criminal complaint was filed on November 2 by Harutyun Mkrtchyan, a member of the Republic party and candidate for mayor of Etchmiadzin. He claimed that the detainees were allegedly obstructing his election campaign, News.am reports.

Investigative authorities have decided to detain the Nersisyans for further consideration. According to lawyer Ara Zohrabyan, there is no hint of a crime in the case.

The lawyer explained that the incident occurred on November 1. Hambardzum Nersisyan was standing in front of the gate of his home when a man approached him and invited him to attend the Republic Party congress. Nersisyan declined, but the man tried to persuade him, after which Gevorg Nersisyan approached. The three of them spoke and then peacefully dispersed. There is a video recording of the incident, the lawyer added.

Earlier, "Caucasian Knot" reported that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sharply criticized the church at a government meeting on May 29 and responded to Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan's objections with insults on social media. Armenian politicians and church representatives demanded that Pashinyan apologize for insulting the church.

On June 27, security forces detained the primate of the Shirak Diocese, Mikael Ajapayan (also referred to in the media as Mikael Ajapakhyan), who voluntarily surrendered to the Investigative Committee. He was charged with calling for the seizure of power, which carries a sentence of two to five years in prison. An attempt to detain the Archbishop of the Armenian Church led to a standoff between security forces and believers. Ajapayan was sentenced to two years in prison.

In October, Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, who is the nephew of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II, and six clergymen, as well as several civilians, were detained in Armenia on suspicion of abuse of office to organize mass protests.