MP Elinar Vardanyan says case against archbishop Аjapahyan is politically driven

Elinar Vardanyan, a member of parliament from the Hayastan faction, criticized the ongoing trial of Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan in comments to reporters ahead of the court session.

“The court has already shown its bias by delivering a guilty verdict in a case with no criminal-legal basis. They are not judging Archbishop Mikael. They are judging our conscience and our faith,” Vardanyan said.

She argued that expecting a fair outcome from the judiciary in such circumstances would be naïve.

“The so-called evidence presented in this case does not in any way prove the crime attributed to Archbishop Mikael. If a prison sentence is handed down, as the prosecutor requested, we must all recognize that it is not the archbishop on trial, but our faith and conscience. Otherwise, sentencing someone under such a fabricated, tailored case clearly means carrying out a political order,” the MP stressed.

Vardanyan added that most judges today simply execute the will of the authorities, delivering politically convenient verdicts.

The Shirak Diocese leader, Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, has already been found guilty under Article 422, Part 2 of the Criminal Code, related to public calls for the usurpation of power, violation of territorial integrity, renunciation of sovereignty, or violent overthrow of constitutional order.

The public prosecutor demanded a sentence of two years and six months in prison. He was sentenced to 2 years.