Armenian Archbishop Ajapahyan sentenced to two years in prison for publicly calling for a coup
Armenian Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan has been sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of publicly calling for a coup. The verdict was announced by Yerevan Judge Armine Meliksetyan on Friday.
Ajapahyan had been convicted in September of violating part 2 of article 422 of Armenia’s criminal code, which refers to public statements that call for ‘usurping state power, violating territorial integrity, or forcibly overthrowing the constitutional order’.
Prosecutors had asked for a 2.5 year sentence, the state-run media outlet Armenpress reported.
The criminal case stemmed from two separate interviews Ajapahyan gave in June 2025 and February 2024.
In the first interview, Ajapahyan said, ‘if there were anyone listening to me, the revolution would have happened long ago. I know only three ways to change the authorities. If you know a fourth one, tell me. The first is elections — supposedly, or, so-called elections. The second — a coup. The third — a popular uprising. Is there any other? Is there? No, there isn’t. All three are impossible. Subjectively — impossible. Objectively — maybe possible’.
In the second, he said, ‘I have never called for power seizure, I have called for a coup [...] I have called for a coup, I have told the military forces to save this country, save it from this madman [likely a reference to Pashinyan] [...] I have not called for the seizure of power, I have said that it is necessary to do it. That is not a call, it is necessary to do it. It is necessary now, it is belated, however it is still necessary to do it’.
On 25 June, Armenian authorities raided the homes of dozens of opposition figures, including Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, following which he and 14 others were accused of plotting ‘terrorist attacks and a coup d’état’ and remanded to pretrial detention for two months.
Shortly afterwards, the authorities published an alleged coup plan that was dated for execution in 2024. They additionally published audio recordings, which they claimed were of the Holy Struggle movement’s leaders and members discussing the coup. Individuals in the recordings could be heard insulting Armenians and discussing deadly attacks as part of the plot.
The sentencing of Ajapahyan marks a significant escalation in the feud between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the church, and was condemned by a number of Armenian outlets, particularly those from the Armenian diaspora.
During the years of Soviet repression, hundreds of Armenian clergymen, including archbishops, were arrested, exiled, or executed. Today, those dark pages appear to be returning. Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, head of the Shirak Diocese, has been sentenced to two years in prison… pic.twitter.com/JsOZ2WIDtL
— 301🇦🇲 (@301arm) October 3, 2025
Since late May, Pashinyan, his wife Anna Hakobyan, and other members of his Civil Contract party have regularly attacked the church and the clergy, offering various accusations and using insults.
Tensions between Pashinyan and the church reached an all-time high after Pashinyan claimed in late May that churches had become ‘storerooms’ and that clergymen were breaking their vows of celibacy. Pashinyan additionally accused Karekin II of having a child.
Following Pashinyan’s crackdown on the church, several rounds of protests were held in support of church leaders. However, the protests quickly lost momentum as the cases moved to the court.
In the aftermath of Ajapahyan’s sentencing, several residents launched an open-ended sit-in and hunger strike in the courtyard of the Holy Seven Wounds Church in central Gyumri, Armenia’s second city. The protesters demanded the archbishop’s release, calling his imprisonment politically motivated and accusing the government of destroying justice in Armenia. Local media reported that the demonstrations grew over the weekend as community members voiced solidarity with Ajapahyan.
During Gyumri City Day celebrations on Saturday, Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan — an outspoken critic of the Pashinyan government — publicly denounced the government’s actions, calling the treatment of Ajapahyan a ‘disgrace’ and ‘shameful’. Ghukasyan said that a bishop who had served the Armenian people for 50 years should not be ‘treated as a criminal’ and warned that he would not allow Armenia to ‘be turned into a vilayet’, referring to administrative division in the Ottoman Empire. Ghukasyan was echoing a widespread opposition narrative that Pashinyan is leading Armenia towards Turkish control. Earlier, Ghukasyan, a member of the Communist Party in Armenia, called for better relations and a union–state with Russia.
Pashinyan and his allies have promised to crack down on Ghukasyan as well.
Nate Ostiller
