17:35, 3 October 2025

Archbishop Ajapayan sentenced to prison

The court sentenced Archbishop Mikael Ajapayan, Primate of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, to two years in prison. The defense intends to appeal the verdict.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," in early September, a Yerevan court extended the pretrial detention of Mikael Ajapayan, Primate of the Shirak Diocese, for another month. He is accused of calling for the seizure of power. On September 24, the court announced its general decision finding Ajapayan guilty. The Archbishop denied the charges. The prosecution requested a sentence of two years and six months in prison.

On June 27, security forces detained the head of the Shirak Diocese, Mikael Ajapayan (also referred to in the media as Mikael Ajapakhyan), who voluntarily surrendered to the Investigative Committee. He was charged with calling for the seizure of power, which carries a sentence of two to five years in prison. An attempt to detain the Archbishop of the Armenian Church led to a confrontation between security forces and believers.

By a decision of the Court of General Jurisdiction of the city of Yerevan, the Primate of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Archbishop Mikael Ajapayan, was sentenced to two years in prison, the term began from the moment of his actual detention, Armenpress reported today.

The judge's words were met with indignant shouts from those present at the hearing, chanting "Srbazan, Srbazan" (in Armenian - an address to a clergyman), "News of Armenia" reports.

The Archbishop's lawyer, Ara Zohrabyan, called the court The verdict was "obviously politically motivated." "Mikael Srbazyan did not call for a change of power or the overthrow of the constitutional order. What he is accused of is an expression of his opinion; it cannot be called a call," he said.

Zohrabyan confirmed his intention to appeal the verdict, and Ajapayan's defense also intends to appeal to the ECHR.

For more information on the case of Ajapayan and other political opponents of the current government, see the "Caucasian Knot" report "The Main Thing About Political Arrests in Armenia in the Summer of 2025".

We have updated the apps on Android and IOS! We would be grateful for criticism and development ideas both in Google Play/App Store and on KU pages in social networks. Without installing a VPN, you can read us on Telegram (in Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia - with VPN). Using a VPN, you can continue reading the Caucasian Knot on the website as usual and on social networks: Facebook*, Instagram*, VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, and X. You can watch the "Caucasian Knot" video on YouTube. Send messages to +49 157 72317856 on WhatsApp*, to the same number on Telegram, or write to @Caucasian_Knot.

* Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.

Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/415981