ArmInfo.An additional court hearing will be held next Monday to consider the punishment for Archbishop Mikael Ajapakhian. His lawyer, Ara Zohrabyan, announced this in a conversation with reporters on September 24.
According to him, Judge Armine Meliksetyan's verdict finding the archbishop guilty is not surprising, especially considering the grave violations she committed during the trial. The lawyer believes that Mikael Ajapakhian will likely be sentenced to keep him in prison until after the 2026 parliamentary elections. "Everything is clear and understandable here, and there is no need to make any predictions in this matter. Moreover, the archbishop made his statement about the past, not the present or future. Under these circumstances, when an innocent person is found guilty, counting on an acquittal is simply unrealistic," the lawyer noted.
As a reminder, Ajapayan has been in custody since June 28. According to the Investigative Committee, during the preliminary investigation of the criminal case, clear factual evidence was obtained indicating that M.A. stated in an interview with a news channel that he had repeatedly proposed to two former presidents of the Republic of Armenia to carry out a military coup through generals who held similar positions in the army, police, and national security agencies. "Thus, M.A., using the media, made public calls aimed at seizing power and violently overthrowing the constitutional order," the statement stated. Regarding M.A. A public criminal prosecution was initiated under Part 2 of Article 422 of the Criminal Code (public calls aimed at seizing power, violating territorial integrity, renunciation of sovereignty, or the violent overthrow of the constitutional order). On July 30, the Court of Appeal rejected the defense's appeal to change the archbishop's pretrial detention.
The archbishop himself, in his closing argument, noted that he was honored to be in prison under the current rulers.
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