By Lucy Papachristou
Aug 6 (Reuters) - The head of the Apostolic Church in Armenia, widely regarded as the world's first Christian nation, and six other senior clerics will go on trial on Friday in the latest escalation of a bitter struggle with the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Catholicos Karekin II, who has led the Church since 1999, is accused alongside the other defendants of failing to comply with a civil court order temporarily reinstating a bishop whom the Church had defrocked.
They face up to two years in prison if convicted.
The case is the most significant legal challenge yet to the leadership of the Apostolic Church, a powerful institution in Armenia that traces the country's adoption of Christianity to 301 AD.
It comes amid deepening tensions between church and state over Pashinyan's leadership and his handling of peace talks with Azerbaijan after a series of wars dating back to the 1980s.
Pashinyan, re-elected in June, has won strong backing from the European Union as he tries to steer Armenia closer to the West and away from Russia's orbit.
But opposition politicians, church leaders and civil society groups say the prosecution of the Catholicos is politically motivated, and part of a wider crackdown on government critics.
Anna Melikyan, a lawyer at Protection of Rights Without Borders, an Armenian non-profit group, said the case violated the constitutional independence of the Apostolic Church.
"This is a clear interference of the executive power in church affairs," she said.
"There are a lot of concerns about the independence of the judiciary in Armenia...and with certain politically sensitive cases, including cases against the church or clergy, these concerns become very strong."
Pashinyan's office and the prosecutor's office did not respond to requests for comment.Pashinyan has repeatedly called for Karekin's resignation and accused the Apostolic Church, without presenting evidence, of acting as a proxy for foreign powers, namely Russia. The Church denies that.
SENIOR CLERGY CALL FOR PM'S RESIGNATION
The Apostolic Church, which is distinct from both the Orthodox and Catholic churches, counts millions of followers in Armenia and around the world. Church officials say the arrests of several clergymen in recent years have been politically motivated.
The trial stems from the case of Gevorg Saroyan, a bishop who was defrocked after the Church accused him of abusing his authority and neglecting his duties. Saroyan had publicly called for Karekin's resignation and aligned himself with Pashinyan.
Two years ago, another prominent cleric, Bagrat Galstanyan — who is now under house arrest awaiting trial — led street protests against Pashinyan over territorial concessions made to Azerbaijan. The Catholicos himself has echoed calls for the prime minister to step down.
"Pashinyan started viewing the Church as a political threat, as an institution that could support the opposition and different political parties to come to power," said Tigran Grigoryan, director of the Regional Centre for Democracy and Security think tank in Yerevan.
Grigoryan said the case against the clerics fit into a broader pattern of selective justice pursued by Pashinyan's government, which has seen leading opposition figures detained and some of their assets seized by the state.
One prominent archbishop was given two years in prison in October after calling for regime change in a media interview, while several other priests are awaiting trial on similar charges.
(Reporting by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Ros Russell)
