By Anush Mkrtchian
YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, accused of calling for the seizure of power and the violent overthrow of the constitutional order, has gone on trial on charges his legal team and supporters describe as politically motivated.
Ajapahyan, the primate of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, surrendered to investigators on June 27, several hours after security forces raided the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin in an attempt to arrest the outspoken archbishop. They failed to do so facing fierce resistance from hundreds of angry priests and laypeople.
His arrest followed the detention of another Armenian archbishop, Bagrat Galstanyan, along with 14 of his supporters, on charges of plotting to topple the government through “terrorist acts,” which they deny.
Government critics allege the arrests are part of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s broader campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church in which he has called for the resignation of its head, Catholicos Garegin II, alleging that the supreme patriarch has broken his vow of celibacy by fathering a child.
During the opening session in Ajapahyan’s trial on August 15 attended by members of his flock as well as senior Church representatives, the court rejected a defense petition for the archbishop’s release pending trial, extending his detention by another 10 days.
