Archbishop Ajapayan's arrest extended

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A court in Yerevan has extended for another month the arrest of the head of the Shirak Diocese Mikael Ajapayan, who is accused of calling for the seizure of power.

As reported by "Kavkazsky Uzel", 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 came to the Investigative Committee. He is charged with calling for the seizure of power, which provides for two to five years of imprisonment. The archbishop rejected the charges and the court sentenced him to two months of arrest. On August 5, Ajapayan's case was transferred to court. On August 15, his arrest was extended.

A court in Yerevan extended the arrest of the head of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Archbishop Mikael Ajapayan, by another month, News.am reported on September 2.

Earlier, Ajapayan's arrest was extended until September 6, but since this day is a non-working day, the issue of choosing a preventive measure was decided to be considered on September 2.

At the trial, Ajapayan stated that he was not asking anyone for freedom. He accused the judge and the prosecutor of carrying out an order and called on them to be free. The cell where he is being held. the archbishop called it a "pigsty" and "a disgrace to the state."

Recall that on the morning of June 27, security forces conducted a search in the building of the Shirak diocese, while Ajapayan's lawyer was forbidden to be present during the search. The archbishop, who was in Echmiadzin, declared his readiness to go with the security forces who arrived there, but the crowd surrounded the car and prevented him from being detained. After this, Ajapayan decided to go to Yerevan and appear at the Investigative Committee. More details about the case of Ajapayan and other political opponents of the current government are provided in the "Caucasian Knot" report "The Main Thing About Political Arrests in Armenia in the Summer of 2025".

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