Armenian appellate court overturns archbishop's conviction, orders retrial

Armenia’s Criminal Court of Appeals has overturned a lower-court ruling in the case of Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan, head of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and remanded the matter for a new trial.

The appellate panel on Thursday ruled that the court of first instance had not constituted a lawful and properly established tribunal in accordance with legal requirements, rendering its judgment defective.

“The Court of Appeals has determined that, in this case, the Court of First Instance did not function as a court lawfully established under the law and therefore as a proper tribunal. For that reason, the judgment has been overturned,” the presiding judge stated while delivering the ruling.

As part of its decision, the appellate court revoked the house arrest previously imposed on Ajapahyan while leaving in force a travel restriction barring him from leaving the country. The case has been referred back to the Shirak Regional Court of General Jurisdiction for renewed proceedings.

Defense attorneys had appealed the original verdict, seeking its complete annulment and requesting that the court issue a new judicial act declaring Ajapahyan innocent of all charges.

Ajapahyan was arrested on June 28, 2025, and initially placed in pretrial detention. His detention was subsequently extended. Prosecutors charged the archbishop under Article 422.2, of Armenia’s Criminal Code, which criminalizes public calls aimed at usurping power, undermining territorial integrity, renouncing sovereignty or violently overthrowing the constitutional order.

The Court of First Instance later found Ajapahyan guilty on the charge and sentenced him to two years of imprisonment on Oct. 3, 2025. In a subsequent ruling issued on Feb. 6, 2026, the court replaced his detention with house arrest.