A court in Armenia has sentenced a prominent cleric to two years in prison
A prominent cleric in Armenia was sentenced to two years in prison on Friday after being found guilty of calling for an overthrow of the government.
Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan was arrested in June and accused of being part of an alleged coup plot against the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The cleric was found guilty on Sept. 24 of calling for the government to be overthrown. His lawyer, Ara Zohrabyan, condemned the verdict as being politically motivated.
Ajapahyan was prosecuted for merely expressing an opinion, said Zohrabyan, who vowed to appeal the verdict.
The Armenian Apostolic Church also condemned the verdict as politically motivated, describing it as “one of the clear manifestations of the authorities’ anti-church campaign.”
The authorities had tried to detain Ajapahyan in June, which led to security forces facing off with crowds at the headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Videos circulated online showed clergymen jostling with police.
