A senior cleric of the Armenian apostolic church has been sentenced to two years in prison, after being found guilty of calling for the overthrow of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government.

According to Reuters, Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan was convicted following comments he made in interviews last year and earlier this year suggesting that a coup was needed in Armenia.

The Apostlic church described the conviction as an act of “political vengeance."

Ajapahyan, aged 62, was first detained in June, after authorities reversed an earlier decision by prosecutors who said his remarks did not warrant criminal punishment.

The verdict followed a summer of escalating arrests targeting senior church figures, including Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, who led anti-government protests in 2024 and remains in pre-trial detention.

The confrontation comes amid rising political pressure on Pashinyan ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections and as his administration faces scrutiny over peace negotiations with Azerbaijan.

A US-brokered draft peace agreement was signed in Washington in August, but significant obstacles remained, including a demand by Azerbaijan for constitutional changes in Armenia.

Reuters reported that the church vowed to continue advocating for Ajapahyan’s release, and warned that the verdict risked deepening national division.