Armenian archbishop sentenced to two years in prison.
Cleric accused of inciting coup after criticizing the handover of territories to Azerbaijan.
247 - Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, a prominent figure in the Armenian Apostolic Church, was sentenced on Friday (3) to two years in prison on charges of inciting a coup d'état. The decision was announced by a court in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, and marks another chapter in the growing dispute between the country's religious hierarchy and the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The information is from the RT portal.
According to the report, Ajapahyan had been under investigation since June, when he was placed in pre-trial detention after giving interviews in which he advocated for the overthrow of the current government. The prosecution had requested a sentence of two and a half years, while the archbishop's defense denied any crime and claimed that the accusations were politically motivated.
Conflict between government and Church
Tensions intensified after Pashinyan agreed to return border villages to Azerbaijan, Armenia's historical rival in territorial disputes. The prime minister argues that the measure is part of an agreement to end decades of conflict, but opponents accuse him of "betraying national interests."
Within the Apostolic Church, the anti-government movement gained strength. Ajapahyan, in statements after being detained, harshly criticized the judicial process: "The Lord will not forgive the pathetic servants who know very well what they are doing.".
In August, the institution's supreme leader, Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, denounced an "illegal campaign against the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church and its clergy by the ruling political force."
Arrests of other religious figures and international reaction
Ajapahyan's case was not an isolated one. In June, another influential cleric, Bishop Bagrat Galstanyan, was also arrested, accused of terrorism and plotting a coup.
The repercussions have gone beyond Armenian borders. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declared that the crisis is an “internal matter for Armenia,” but acknowledged that the large Armenian diaspora in Russia is following the events “with pain” and rejects the way the arrests have been conducted.
Ajapahyan's conviction highlights the depth of the rift between the State and the Church in Armenia, at a time of strong political and social instability in the country.
