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Judge Masis Melkonyan of the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction has approved the prosecution’s motion to hold Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan without bail in pre-trial detention.
Ajapahyan’s lawyers told reporters after the court session that the judge ordered a two-month jail term.
Ajapahyan, the Head of the Diocese of Shirak of the Armenian Apostolic Church, is charged with advocating the overthrow of the government. The motion for pre-trial detention was examined overnight.
The prosecution later said in a statement that the criminal proceedings against the Archbishop were initiated after he publicly called for a military coup during his June 21 interview. Prosecutors added that he has made similar calls in the past.
Earlier on Friday, Ajapahyan denounced the charges against him as fabricated.
On June 25, authorities arrested another senior clergyman on suspicion of plotting a coup.