Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan facing up to five years in prison

ArmInfo. The state prosecutor in the case of Archbishop Mikael Ajapahian called on the court to find the cleric guilty and impose an appropriate sentence.

On August 28, the court resumed hearings on the criminal case   against the Primate of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic  Church, Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan. He is accused of inciting  violence and attempting to overthrow the constitutional order through  the media.  The state prosecutor called on the court to find the  archbishop guilty under Article 422, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of  the Republic of Armenia and sentence him to five years. The  prosecutor emphasized that Mikael Ajapahyan had made public calls for  a violent seizure of power through the media, reaching  an audience  of over 40,000 viewers.

 In turn, the archbishop's lawyer, Yerem Sargsyan, accused Judge  Armine Meliksetyan of  bias, claiming that she has already  predetermined the archbishop's guilt.  According to him, the judge  has already proven by her behavior that regardless of the evidence   or the presence of  a crime,  the archbishop would be found guilty.