Armenian court finds Archbishop Ajapahyan guilty of making "public calls for seizure of power'

YEREVAN, September 24. /ARKA/. A first instant court in Yerevan has ruled today that Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, who serves as the Primate of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, is guilty of making "public calls for the seizure of power in Armenia."

The verdict was delivered by Judge Armine Meliksetyan of the Avan Court of General Jurisdiction. She also indicated that Archbishop Ajapahyan's pretrial detention status remains unchanged (he is under arrest, with limitations on his communication with the media).

Ara Zohrabyan, the attorney representing the archbishop, announced that the court will deliberate on the punishment for his client next Tuesday.

Zohrabyan asserted that the archbishop is innocent of the charges against him. "One can only discuss a seizure of power in the present or future tense, but the archbishop referred to the past," the lawyer told reporters following the court session.

He stressed that the court's ruling will undoubtedly be contested once the final verdict is rendered.

On June 27 of this year, the Investigative Committee initiated a public criminal prosecution against the archbishop under Article 422 of the Criminal Code, which pertains to public calls for the seizure of power and the violent overthrow of the constitutional order through the use of media and information and communication technologies. He has been in custody since September 28.-0-