The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin has condemned the decision to keep Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan of the Shirak Diocese in detention, calling for his immediate release.
“The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin condemns the July 30, 2025, decision of the Armenian Court of Criminal Appeals, which upheld an earlier unlawful court ruling ordering the detention of His Grace Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, Primate of the Shirak Diocese.
On June 28, 2025, a trial court had imposed detention on Archbishop Mikael based on fabricated claims of interfering with the investigation and committing a crime.
Detaining Archbishop Mikael is a punitive measure aimed at restricting freedom of speech and is a direct outcome of the government’s anti-church policy and hate speech targeting clergy.
We urge the judiciary and the prosecutor’s office to immediately release His Grace Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, who has been unlawfully detained,” the statement said.
On the morning of June 27, around 30 masked individuals stormed the headquarters of the Shirak Diocese. However, Archbishop Mikael was at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin at the time, attending a scheduled clergy assembly. He later turned himself in to the Investigative Committee and was remanded in custody for two months by court order. Ajapahyan faces criminal charges for making public calls aimed at seizing power, violating territorial integrity, relinquishing sovereignty, or overthrowing the constitutional order.
