The head of the influential Armenian Apostolic Church has appeared in court for a trial on criminal charges in the latest confrontation with the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Catholicos Karekin II and six other clerics are accused of failing to reinstate a bishop who was defrocked.

Kirchenführer sind im Kaukasus unangefochtene Autoritäten. Doch Armeniens Regierung zerrt ihren Katholikos vor Gericht. Es geht auch gegen Russlands Einfluss.