Court overturns Archbishop Ajapahyan conviction, orders retrial

An appeals court in Yerevan on Thursday overturned the two-year prison sentence handed to Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan last October over public calls for violent regime change, ordering a retrial in a lower court.

Both sides had challenged the initial ruling. Ajapahyan’s legal team sought a full acquittal, while prosecutors appealed for a harsher sentence. The cleric rejects the charges, calling them politically motivated.

Ajapahyan had been under house arrest since February, when a court ordered his release from pre-trial detention. Following Thursday’s decision, that restriction has been lifted, although he remains under a travel ban and is not permitted to leave Armenia.

Ajapahyan serves as the primate of the northwestern Shirak Province, placing him among the senior leadership of the Armenian Apostolic Church. His arrest last June came amid heightened tensions between the government and the church.

Also read: How Armenia’s Church and government conflict challenges secularism

The case unfolded just days after the arrest of another senior cleric, Bagrat Galstanyan, who leads the church in the northeastern Tavush Province. He was charged with calling for violent regime change, plotting an armed coup, and preparing a terrorist attack.

The arrests deepened an ongoing rift within the church. In November, several bishops and archbishops issued a joint statement calling on Catholicos Karekin II to step down, effectively siding with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in his dispute with the church leadership.

Also read: Religious leaders, including Artsakh Bishop, urge Karekin II’s exit

“We expect that Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, out of love for our Church and our people, will soberly assess the current situation, avoid leading our people and our Church into unnecessary turmoil, and voluntarily retire, thus allowing new elections to be organized,” the statement said.