Senior clergyman under investigation for advocating overthrow of government

Criminal proceedings have been launched in connection with Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan’s recent statement, which authorities deem a call for a coup—an offense under the criminal code.

Ajapahyan had earlier stated in an interview, “A military coup d'état must be carried out in Armenia.”

According to the prosecution, the criminal case relates to provisions in the criminal code concerning publicly advocating overthrow of government (usurpation of power), violation of territorial integrity, abandonment of sovereignty, and the violent overthrow of the constitutional order.

Archbishop Ajapahyan is the head of the Diocese of Shirak of the Armenian Apostolic Church.