Armenia`s Investigative Committee to apply to court for Archbishop  Mikael Ajapakhian`s arrest 

ArmInfo.  The National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia is currently at the residence of the Catholicos in the Mother See of Etchmiadzin. This was reported to journalists by lawyer Mihran Poghosyan.

Early this morning, security forces raided the residence of the  Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, but Archbishop  Mikael Ajapakhian was already in Etchmiadzin at that time. A meeting  of the clergy was held in the Mother See.

<There is a decision by the Investigative Committee investigator,  according to which Archbishop Mikael Ajapakhian will be detained and  then taken to arrest>, - lawyer Ara Zohrabyan said in the courtyard  of the residence of the Mother See of Etchmiadzin, in front of the  priests.

The criminal case was opened on June 17 of this year, based on a  signal received by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The reason for  the criminal case was an interview given by the bishop in February  2024 about allegedly public calls to seize power and violently  overthrow the constitutional order, he continued.

<In our opinion, this clearly illegal prosecution has an obvious  goal>, - the lawyer noted.

On June 25, the Investigative Committee reported on the preparation  of terrorist acts with the aim of seizing power in Armenia by members  of the "Sacred Struggle". Large-scale searches were carried out in  the homes of the leader of the movement Bagrat Galstanyan and his  supporters. In the evening of the same day, the court arrested them.