RA NSS: A decision was made to arrest the head of the Shirak Diocese

ArmInfo. The National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia reports that a decision has been made to arrest  the head of the Shirak Diocese, Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan,  in order to submit a motion to the court for applying detention as a preventive measure.

 "Today in Holy Etchmiadzin, what happened in Ottoman Turkey in 1915  is repeating itself, when the Turks chopped into pieces the ancestor  of Mikael Ajapahyan, Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan," Bishop Nathan told  journalists.

Below is the text of the NSS statement: " During the preliminary  investigation of the criminal proceedings conducted by the General  Department for Investigation of Particularly Important Cases of the  Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia, a decision was  made to initiate public criminal prosecution under Article 422, Part  2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia against Archbishop  Mikael Ajapahyan of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic  Church (Gevorg Artashes Ajapahyan), for making public calls-via mass  media and communication technologies-for the usurpation of power and  the violent overthrow of the constitutional order. In connection with  this, on June 27, 2025, a decision was made to arrest the accused  Gevorg Ajapahyan, who is currently at large, in order to submit a  motion to the court for applying detention as a preventive measure.   The implementation of this decision was entrusted to the National  Security Service of the Republic of Armenia. The National Security  Service of the Republic of Armenia urges all citizens to refrain from  escalating the situation and not to obstruct the enforcement of  lawful decisions by law enforcement bodies.  We call on Archbishop  Mikael Ajapahyan (Gevorg Artashes Ajapahyan) not to evade law  enforcement and to present himself to the National Security Service  operative team awaiting him," the statement reads.