Defense says Archbishop Mikayel victim of political persecution

At Tuesday’s trial of Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan, head of the Shirak Diocese, his defense lawyer Ara Zohrabyan claimed that the cleric is facing political persecution.

Zohrabyan told the Yerevan First Instance Court that the archbishop is accused solely for his statements critical of the government, stressing that “free speech cannot be restricted”. He criticized judge Armine Meliksetyan for ignoring the archbishop’s age, high clerical rank and the fact that Shirak Province has effectively been deprived of its spiritual leader.

The lawyer questioned the judge’s impartiality, noting that the court extended the cleric’s detention even when prosecutors had not requested it and limited his communication with the media without formal grounds. Zohrabyan predicted the court would hand down a guilty verdict and keep the archbishop imprisoned until elections, calling it proof of “cooperation between the prime minister, the courts and the judges”.

According to the defense, the prosecution has failed to specify whether Mikayel’s statements were aimed at seizing power, overthrowing the constitutional order, or both. Zohrabyan compared this to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s own recent calls for the establishment of the Fourth Republic of Armenia, arguing that such rhetoric is itself a challenge to the constitutional order.

The defense insists that the archbishop’s rights to a fair trial, free expression and liberty have been violated and demanded his acquittal.

Archbishop Mikael was arrested on June 28 on charges of calling for the violent seizure of power. His detention was later extended for two months.