Archbishops arrested in Armenia to hold one-day hunger strike

Archbishops Bagrat Galstanyan, leader of the opposition Holy Struggle party, and Mikael Ajapakhyan, head of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC), will hold a one-day hunger strike on July 5. This was reported by Sputnik Armenia on July 4.

"We are announcing a one—day hunger strike on July 5 in connection with Constitution Day, condemning the unconstitutional process against us," the agency quoted cleric Ajapakhyan as saying.

He recalled that a week had passed since his detention and arrest. The Archbishop also thanked those who are worried about what is happening to the priests.

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Archbishop Ajapakhyan was detained on June 27. The Investigative Committee of Armenia has opened a criminal case against him on calls to overthrow the government in the country. In turn, Armenian lawyer Varazdat Harutyunyan stated that the criminal case against the archbishop on calls to seize power is absurd from a legal point of view.

Also on June 25, Archbishop Galstanyan and 14 other people, his supporters, were detained in Armenia as part of a criminal case on an "attempt to seize power." On June 26, Galstanyan was arrested for two months.

On June 30, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia was interested in ending attacks on the Armenian Apostolic Church, as well as in resolving the situation as soon as possible based on full respect for the rights of believers.