We Will Appeal to the European Court: Lawyer of Archbishop Mikayel

“This sentence was predictable for us,” said Ara Zohrapyan, the lawyer of Mikayel Archbishop Ajapahyan from the Armenian Apostolic Church's Shirak Diocese, while speaking with journalists about the ruling by the judge of the Yerevan First Instance General Jurisdiction Criminal Court, Armine Meliksetyan, to imprison the Archbishop for two years.

The lawyer emphasized, “This was a commissioned act, a political persecution.” Zohrapyan also pointed to another significant aspect: “Mikayel Srbazani was accused of committing an act specified in the second part of Article 422 of the Criminal Code. However, while reading the verdict, the judge accused him of an act under the second part of Article 442, which pertains to a completely different matter regarding the illegal entrepreneurial activities of public officials. In other words, the court referred to a different article. If this resulted from the judge's agitation, that agitation affects the fates of individuals.”

The lawyer of Mikayel Archbishop Ajapahyan also stated that they will appeal the court's decision: “Mikayel Srbazani did not commit acts defined by either Article 422 or Article 442. Mikayel Srbazani has not called for the usurpation of power or the overthrow of the constitutional order; he merely expressed his opinion. We will appeal to the appellate court. We have already received the ruling from the Supreme Court, which did not accept our appeal regarding the first detention. For the second detention, we will turn to the international court, the European Court. We are already working in that direction,” Zohrapyan emphasized.