The defense asked to change the measure of restraint for the arrested Archbishop Ajapakhyan.

The lawyers of the arrested head of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC), Archbishop Mikael Ajapakhyan, filed a petition asking them to cancel or change the measure of restraint for their client, Sputnik Armenia reported on July 24.

The defenders applied to the prosecutor's office with the relevant document.

"The lawyers stressed that since the preliminary investigation has been completed, there is no risk of the archbishop's interference in the evidence collection process," the agency notes.

The legal team believes that there are no grounds for the arrest of the clergyman.

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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, lawyer Varazdat Harutyunyan called the case against the priest absurd from a legal point of view. The next day, a court in Yerevan arrested Ajapakhyan for two months.

Also on June 25, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, leader of the opposition Holy Struggle party, and 14 other supporters were detained in Armenia in a criminal case of an "attempt to seize power." On June 26, Galstanyan was arrested for two months.

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