The appeals criminal court overturned the verdict of the first instance court in the case of the leader of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan, and sent the case for a new examination.
“Armenpress”according to the report, the court published the final part of the decision on June 25.
The court also canceled the house arrest imposed on Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan. The absence ban applied to him was left unchanged.
The court of general jurisdiction of the city of Yerevan found Archbishop Mikael Adjapahyan guilty and sentenced him to 2 years in prison.
He was prosecuted under Article 422, Part 2 of the RA Criminal Code for public appeals aimed at usurping power, violating territorial integrity, renouncing sovereignty, or violently overthrowing the constitutional order.
Earlier, the Court of Appeals made a decision to change the restraining order applied to Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, imposing house arrest instead of arrest. The archbishop was detained since June 28, 2025.
Archbishop Mikael Adjapahyan does not accept the accusation against him.
The defense side demanded to annul the verdict of the court of first instance and declare the innocence of the archbishop. Archbishop Mikael Adjapahyan also appealed to the European Court of Human Rights.
