Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan's arrest extended by two months

The Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction extended the pretrial detention of Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, leader of the Sacred Struggle movement, for another two months. The archbishop rejected alternative pretrial detention measures.

As reported by the Caucasian Knot, at a hearing on January 8, the defense demanded that the charges brought against members of the Sacred Struggle movement in the case of seizing power be personalized, a position the court upheld. Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan pointed to the lack of expert examinations in the case and called the charges unsubstantiated. In November 2025, a Yerevan court extended the pretrial detention of Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, accused of preparing to seize state power, for another three months. On January 15, 2026, prosecutors in the Sacred Struggle case petitioned the judge to silence those speaking about circumstances unrelated to the criminal case during the trial. This is an opportunity for the accused to refute false accusations, the defendants stated. On June 25, 2025, security forces conducted more than 90 searches in connection with the case of preparations for a coup d'état in Armenia. By court order, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, leader of the Sacred Struggle movement, and 14 others were remanded in custody. A day earlier, on June 24, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced the prevention of a coup and published a document outlining the opposition's alleged plan to remove him from power. The arrests of political opponents of the current government are described in the "Caucasian Knot" report "The Main Thing About Political Arrests in Armenia in the Summer of 2025".

At today's hearing in the Yerevan court, Bagrat Galstanyan's lawyers petitioned to overturn his arrest. The archbishop's defense team continues to believe the criminal prosecution is politically motivated, and therefore the case should be dropped, Novosti Armenia reported today.

Prosecutor Hayk Hovhannisyan noted that the case is in the preliminary hearing stage, and the prosecution believes Galstanyan may obstruct the proceedings. The motion was met with chants of "freedom" in the courtroom, Amnews reports.

Archbishop Galstanyan himself stated that he is free in spirit and conscience, unlike the judge and prosecutors, who are forced to imprison people for money and positions. He stated at the court hearing that he would not accept alternative forms of restraint, including house arrest, bail, or electronic monitoring.

"I will not accept bail either. There is no need for that. I will not accept an electronic device either—this 'muzzle' or bracelet. A ban on leaving the country is the most humiliating. The only option is to leave, but that is not freedom, only a change in conditions," he noted in court.

As a reminder, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sharply criticized the church at a government meeting on May 29, and responded to Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan's objections with insults on Facebook*. Armenian politicians and church representatives demanded that Pashinyan apologize for insulting the church.

The court also 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, and the case against Bagrat Galstanyan continues to be heard in court. Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, Primate of the Aragatsotn Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and Priest Garegin Arsenyan have been arrested on charges of coercion to participate in public gatherings.