Masked men storm Shirak Diocese headquarters amid criminal probe into archbishop

Around 30 masked security officers stormed the headquarters of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church on Friday morning, lawyer Mihran Poghosyan reported.

The incident follows the launch of criminal proceedings against Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan, Primate of the Shirak Diocese. The Prosecutor General’s Office confirmed to Panorama.am that the archbishop had been charged with making public calls for the usurpation of power.

Meanwhile, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan and 14 others have been placed in pre-trial detention for two months on charges of plotting to overthrow the Armenian government.