Bagrat Galstanyan's lawyer was detained in Yerevan.

After a court hearing in the case of Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan and his supporters, security forces detained the priest's lawyer, Alexander Kochubaev. The Investigative Committee cited a criminal case for the disclosure of defamatory information as the reason. The human rights activist believes the case against Kochubaev is politically motivated.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on June 25, security forces conducted more than 90 searches in connection with the investigation into the plot to seize power in Armenia. By court order, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, leader of the "Sacred Struggle" movement, and 14 others have been remanded in custody. A day earlier, on June 24, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that a coup had been prevented and published a document outlining the opposition's alleged plan to remove him from power. On June 27, security forces detained Mikael Ajapayan (also referred to in the media as Mikael Ajapakhyan), the primate of the Shirak Diocese, who had voluntarily surrendered to the Investigative Committee. He was charged under Part 2 of Article 422 of the Criminal Code, which carries a prison sentence of two to five years. The archbishop denied the charge.

Lawyer Alexander Kochubayev was detained after a court hearing in the case of Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan and his supporters, according to Novosti-Armenia.

"We noticed that masked men very roughly pulled someone out of a car. They put him in the car and took off. It turned out that it was Kochubayev's car," Melikyan told the publication.

"Such actions against a lawyer are absolutely unacceptable. This is a very serious challenge to lawyers. We demand respect for our profession. It is unacceptable to detain a person, and especially a lawyer, in this way. Obviously, this "political repression," the lawyer emphasized.

The Investigative Committee announced Kochubaev's arrest. "A criminal prosecution has been initiated publicly under Part 2 of Article 490 (disclosure of defamatory information about a judge, prosecutor, investigator, head of an investigative body, inquiry agency, lawyer, representative, expert, or bailiff, or causing other harm to the rights and legitimate interests of the said persons, or destruction of or damage to the property of the said persons in connection with the lawful official or professional activities of the said persons) of the Criminal Code," Armenpress quotes the agency as saying. It states that the detainee is "taken into custody."

More details on the case of Ajapayan and other political opponents of the current government are available in the "Caucasian Knot" report "The Main Thing About Political Arrests in Armenia in the Summer of 2025."