ARF Supreme Body of Armenia has strongly condemned the “illegal and shameful decision to sentence Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan to two years’ imprisonment.”
The statement says that this is not only an act of retribution against a clergyman but also a political assault on the Armenian Apostolic Church, on our national identity, and on citizens’ right to free expression.
“This verdict is further proof that the current authorities are building a despotic administrative system in Armenia, where courts are turning into blunt instruments in the hands of power,” the statement says.
The ARF Supreme Body asserted that it is confident the moment of accountability for these actions is near.
*(Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, head of the Shirak Diocese, has been sentenced to two years in prison. Judge Armine Meliksetyan of the court of first instance announced the verdict.
According to lawyer Ara Zohrabyan, the judge was in such haste that she cited the wrong article — Article 442(2) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, which prescribes punishment for illegal participation of an official in entrepreneurial activity, while the archbishop was charged under Article 422, i.e., “public calls to seize power.”)*
