Judge Armine Meliksetyan has delivered a verdict in the case of Shirak Diocese leader Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, finding him guilty under Article 422, Part 2 of Armenia’s Criminal Code. The article covers public calls for seizing power, violating territorial integrity, renouncing sovereignty, or forcibly overthrowing the constitutional order. The court decided to keep his pre-trial restrictions unchanged, leaving him under arrest with limitations on communication with the media.
An additional hearing is scheduled for September 29, during which the court will determine the sentence. According to the indictment, a public criminal prosecution was launched against Ajapahyan for making public calls to seize power in Armenia through several media interviews.
Those present in the courtroom reacted to the verdict by chanting “shame.” After the ruling was announced, Archbishop Ajapahyan stated, “It will be fine.”
Archbishop Ajapahyan’s lawyer, Ara Zohrabyan, said the ruling was expected and warned that the prosecution is likely to seek imprisonment: “Just as this verdict was predictable, we again anticipate that the prosecution will request a prison sentence, and the court will set the term in such a way that Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan remains behind bars until the elections.”
Zohrabyan confirmed that the defense team will appeal the decision, calling the process politically motivated and unjust. He also argued that the case lacks legal basis, stating that one can only discuss a seizure of power in the present or future tense, while the archbishop’s words referred to the past.
Ajapahyan is accused of calling for the usurpation of power, a charge that carries a penalty ranging from a fine to five years in prison. The prosecution is based on an interview given a year ago, in which Ajapahyan spoke about the need for a coup. At the time, the Prosecutor General’s Office found no grounds to open a case. Prosecutors now argue that he repeated the same statements in June 2025. Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan denies the charges, insisting they are part of a political persecution campaign.
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin Condemns the Verdict
Following the ruling, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin issued a strongly worded statement condemning what it described as an illegal process: “We strongly condemn this unlawful process and will use all legal means to restore justice for Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan.”
The Mother See said the decision dealt a serious blow to justice in Armenia and to the credibility of judicial institutions: “In the conditions of ongoing hatred and repression in the country, this shameful judicial act once again confirmed that Armenia’s judicial system is entirely dependent on the political authorities’ will. It is regrettable that in our homeland justice is selective and arbitrary, openly serving political revenge.”
Timeline of Events and Wider Crackdown
On June 25, law enforcement raided Archbishop Ajapahyan’s residence in Gyumri as part of a broader crackdown on opposition clergy. Two days later, on June 27, police attempted to arrest him at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin following a clergy meeting. He was escorted out of the building by Catholicos Garegin II and surrounded by hundreds of supporters, preventing his immediate arrest. Ajapahyan later voluntarily surrendered to police that evening.
During an August trial session, Ajapahyan defiantly declared that he does not fear even a life sentence.
The broader crackdown has also targeted other senior clergy. Archbishop Bagrat Galstyan was detained in Yerevan in June and placed in pre-trial detention for two months on charges of terrorism, fomenting public disorder, and planning to seize power. Galstyan had led a protest movement in 2024 opposing the Armenian government’s plan to hand over border regions to Azerbaijan.
