‘The reality is that the government’s campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church, which has been going on for well over a year, continues unabated to this day,’ Ambassador Alberto Fernandez said.
International human rights advocates called on the Trump administration to caution Armenia’s government against veering into authoritarianism amid increased suppression of the country’s Apostolic Church.
“The reality is that the government’s campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church, which has been going on for well over a year, continues unabated to this day,” said Ambassador Alberto Fernandez during a Feb. 26 briefing organized by the National Defense Alliance on Capitol Hill.
The hearing centered on the aftermath of Vice President JD Vance’s historic visit to Armenia and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s ongoing crackdown against the Armenian Apostolic Church, which has recently included the indictment of its leader Catholicos Garegin II, the jailing of several bishops, and the restriction on their movements outside the country.
“The reality is that the government’s campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church, which has been going on for well over a year, continues unabated to this day,” Fernandez said during the hearing. He cited the Catholicos’ prevention from traveling to Austria for a global meeting
