Catholicos Karekin II’s brother and nephew sentenced, but spared prison
- Published
- Place
- Armavir, Armenia
- Event date
- Past event —
Summary
Catholicos Karekin II’s brother and nephew will not go to prison. On Thursday 12 November, the court of Armenia’s Armavir province sentenced Gevorg Nersisyan, brother of the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, to three years in prison. After deducting the time he spent in custody, two years, five months and twenty-five days remain. The sentence is suspended, with two years of probation. His son, Hambardzum Nersisyan, received three years, five months and twenty-five days. But serving it is postponed until his child, a newborn, turns six. Both men were accused of obstructing campaigning ahead of the local elections in Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin) in November 2025. The prosecution had asked for far more: three and a half years behind bars for the father, seven and a half years for the son.
The court had already found father and son guilty at an earlier hearing. On Thursday it only announced the sentences. During probation, neither man may leave Armenia without the authorities’ consent. The measures imposed during the investigation — administrative supervision, bail and a travel ban — will be lifted once the verdict becomes final.
A confrontation in Voskehat
The events date back to 1 November 2025. That day, in Voskehat, a village belonging to the Vagharshapat municipality, representatives of the Hanrapetutyun (Republic) party were campaigning for the 16 November local elections. According to the Investigative Committee, Gevorg and Hambardzum Nersisyan insulted them and demanded that they leave.
The complaint came from mayoral candidate Harutyun Mkrtchyan, the Russian daily MK reports. The two men were first arrested, then placed under house arrest, before being released under administrative supervision. The father spent just over six months deprived of liberty. The defence pleaded not guilty. According to the lawyers, videos filmed at the scene showed that witnesses had lied.
A heavier sentence for the nephew
The son’s case is more complicated. In 2025, Hambardzum Nersisyan had already received a three-year suspended sentence for intentionally causing serious bodily harm. The new verdict cancels that suspension. The court added one year of the old sentence to the two years, five months and twenty-five days of the new one.
Hence the total of three years, five months and twenty-five days. But the judge took his family situation into account: he has a baby to care for. He will not serve the sentence before the child turns six, provided he respects the probation.
A family at the heart of the standoff
The Nersisyan name carries weight. It is that of Karekin II, born Ktrich Nersisyan, Catholicos of All Armenians since 1999. Another of his brothers, Archbishop Yezras, heads the Armenian Church’s diocese in Russia.
Since 2025, Nikol Pashinyan’s government and the Holy See of Etchmiadzin have been in open conflict. Several senior clergy are being prosecuted. Every decision affecting the Catholicos’s circle is therefore read as an episode in that conflict.
Analysis
The court chose a middle path. It confirms the guilt, which vindicates the prosecution. But it rules out prison, which avoids putting the Catholicos’s brother behind bars. The prosecution’s demands were heavy for a campaign scuffle. The verdict cuts them by half or more. Each side can find an argument in it: the government, proof that the law applies to everyone; the Church, proof of an inflated case. An appeal remains possible. So the case is not closed, any more than the conflict surrounding it.
Possible consequences
The verdict can still be appealed. During probation, the two convicted men may not leave Armenia without permission.
