The decision to extend the pretrial detention of Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan, Chancellor of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, was issued today in the Kentron District seat of the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction, and the pretrial detention was extended for two months. This was reported by lawyer Arsen Babayan, who added that only the ban on meeting with the children of Archbishop Khachatryan's sister was lifted..

Attorney Ruben Melikyan on Monday had informed that a motion had been submitted with the court to further tighten the ban on visits to Archbishop Khachatryan.

Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan was detained for two months on December 5, 2025.

He was arrested on December 4. The bishop is accused of allegedly putting drugs in the bag of a protester against the Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin II, in 2018 in order to discredit this person.

The Investigative Committee of Armenia had stated: "During the investigation of the criminal proceedings, a public criminal prosecution was initiated against the person under Article 393, Section 2, Paragraphs 1 and 4 (illegal sale of narcotic drugs by a group of persons with prior consent in a public place) of the Criminal Code [of Armenia]."