{"id":69975,"date":"2026-02-06T00:05:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T00:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/?p=69975"},"modified":"2026-02-06T00:05:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T00:05:10","slug":"human-rights-advocates-decry-armenian-government-crackdown-on-christian-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/learn\/human-rights-advocates-decry-armenian-government-crackdown-on-christian-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Defensores de los derechos humanos denuncian la represi\u00f3n del gobierno armenio contra la iglesia cristiana"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n Peter Flew, a lawyer and writer, says at a congressional briefing Nov. 20, 2025, that he collected evidence and witness statements regarding government persecution of the Apostolic Church in Armenia. \/ Credit: Photo courtesy of George Goss\/Image Herder<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 21, 2025 \/ 14:10 pm (CNA).<\/p>\n

Human rights advocates told members of Congress that the Armenian government\u2019s crackdown on Christians has included the unlawful detentions of clergy, ahead of the country\u2019s parliamentary elections in June 2026.<\/p>\n

Tensions have escalated between Nikol Pashinyan, the sitting prime minister of Armenia, and the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Karekin II, reflecting the struggle over Armenia\u2019s national identity and future direction. Government targeting of Christians has sparked concern for the loss of the country\u2019s heritage as the oldest Christian nation in the world.<\/p>\n

Peter Flew, a lawyer and writer, said at a congressional briefing Nov. 20 that he collected evidence and witness statements regarding government persecution of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Flew cited Pashinyan\u2019s remarks in a recent press conference in which he said the Armenian Apostolic Church \u201chas no Catholicos,\u201d a supreme patriarch and head of the church, saying Karekin II is illegitimate. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe attacks on this front must end,\u201d he said, calling for the release of political prisoners. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have hope that if we bring this issue to greater prominence,\u201d Flew told CNA, \u201cthere will be engagement to say that we support Armenia, we support Armenia\u2019s future and its peace.\u201d <\/p>\n

Flew said: \u201cThe situation on the ground is such that anyone countering it is ending up in jail. Churches are not represented here [at the event] because they\u2019ve been scared, and that\u2019s the challenge.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI think with the international communities, civil society, international at home, if we can come together and allow people to feel that there\u2019s a critical mass raising their voices, that might do something,\u201d Flew said. \u201cBut at the moment, you\u2019re not going to see the church do much because it\u2019s under siege.\u201d <\/p>\n

Joel Veldkamp, speaking for Christian Solidarity International\u2019s mission of campaigning for religious liberty and human dignity, echoed similar concerns for members of the church in Armenia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way I see it, the fact that there are parliamentary elections coming up means that the repression is going to increase,\u201d Veldkamp said. \u201cThe assault on the church has to be seen as part of this effort to cut off dissenting voices before the election comes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Veldkamp said the U.S. State Department has been largely silent on Pashinyan\u2019s crackdown on the Armenian Apostolic Church with the exception of Asif Mahmood, vice chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. <\/p>\n

\u201cPrime Minister Pashinyan visions a future Armenia where the church has no social or political influence independent of the state,\u201d Veldkamp said. \u201cAn Armenia with a severely weakened international identity is not an Armenia that\u2019s going to be helpful to the U.S. for very long. If the president wants to avoid this outcome, it\u2019s time for the U.S. government to break the silence.\u201d <\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/267997\/human-rights-advocates-decry-armenian-government-crackdown-on-christian-church<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Peter Flew, a lawyer and writer, says at a congressional briefing Nov. 20, 2025, that he collected evidence and witness statements regarding government persecution of the Apostolic Church in Armenia. \/ Credit: Photo courtesy of George Goss\/Image Herder Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 21, 2025 \/ 14:10 pm (CNA). Human rights advocates told members of Congress [\u2026]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":76995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[100],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-69975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-news"],"mb":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Human-rights-advocates-decry-Armenian-government-crackdown-on-Christian-church.png?fit=2692%2C752&quality=69&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9482,"url":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/learn\/pope-francis-appoints-new-ordinary-for-armenian-catholics-in-eastern-europe\/","url_meta":{"origin":69975,"position":0},"title":"Pope Francis appoints new Ordinary for Armenian Catholics in Eastern Europe","author":"Christian Pure Team","date":"agosto 23, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"[ad_1] The Cathedral of the Holy Martyrs, in Gyumri, Armenia, is the cathedral of the Ordinariate for Armenia, Georgia, Russia, and Eastern Europe of the Armenian Catholic Church. \/ Credit: Yerevantsi, Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. 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