Armenian lawyer calls Archbishop Ajapakhyan's case absurd

The criminal case against Archbishop Mikael Ajapakhyan of the Armenian Orthodox Church (AAC) on calls to seize power is absurd from a legal point of view. Armenian lawyer Varazdat Harutyunyan stated this on June 28.

"The reason for the case was an interview two years ago, which looks absurd. In legal practice, such cases are impossible if we are not talking about political persecution," Harutyunyan said, quoted by Sputnik Armenia.

The lawyer stressed that Ajapakhyan is being held under an article of moderate severity, and he should not be arrested, but another preventive measure.

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On June 26, the Armenian Prosecutor General's Office opened a criminal case under Article 422 ("Public calls for the violent overthrow of power") against Archbishop Ajapakhyan. The reason was the archbishop's public statements about the political situation in the country.

Later, on June 27, lawyer Ara Zohrabyan announced that Ajapakhyan had been detained on suspicion of calling for the overthrow of the government in Armenia. The archbishop could also have been quietly removed from the building of the Investigative Committee of Armenia, journalist Hayk Harutyunyan notes.