World’s first Christian country faces persecution crisis as three leading clerics detained and archbishop jailed

 Religious freedom is under attack in the world's oldest Christian country, a new major report on civil strife in Armenia has warned.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has been accused of acting like a dictator and launching a ferocious attack on the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church (AAHC), dating back to 301AD. 

According to the report, Mr Pashinyan has sought to overthrow its leader Catholicos Karekin II and has jailed its leading clerics and parishioners. One archbishop, Mikayel Ajapahyan, is serving a two-year sentence for criticising the government.

Businessman Samvel Karapetyan has also been imprisoned for speaking out in defence of the Church.

His assets have been seized, including the country's electricity supply company. Karapetyan has been held in pre-trial detention since the summer in a notorious Soviet-era jail in Yerevan.

Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Religious Freedom Lord Jackson of Peterborough said: "The idea of committed Christians in the world's oldest Christian country, and in civilised and modern Europe, thrown into jail for defending their faith is frightening".

FULL ARTICLE AT: https://www.gbnews.com/news/world/armenia-worlds-first-christian-country-faces-persecution-crisis