Armenian Archbishop faces prison term for inciting government overthrow

Archbishop Mikael Ajapahian, Primate of the Diocese of Shirak in the Armenian Apostolic Church, is facing a potential prison sentence of up to two and a half years after being found guilty of publicly inciting the overthrow of Armenia’s government.

The state prosecutor announced the sentencing request during a court session held in Yerevan on September 29. The prosecution has called for a custodial sentence of 2.5 years, with time already spent in detention to be subtracted, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

The charges against Archbishop Ajapahian stem from a series of past interviews in which he sharply criticized the current Armenian leadership. In those statements, he accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government of steering the country toward ruin and openly called for a political upheaval.

Ajapahian was taken into custody in late June and has remained under arrest since then. On September 24, the court delivered a guilty verdict, finding him in violation of laws pertaining to the incitement of a forced change in government.

By Vafa Guliyeva