Armenia arrests archbishop over alleged coup plot

Armenia's National Security officers arrest Archbishop of the Armenian Apostolic Church Bagrat Galstanyan, who is charged with attempting to overthrow the government and destabilizing the state, in Yerevan, Armenia, June 25, 2025. —MELIK BAGHDASARYAN/PHOTOLURE VIA REUTERS

LONDON—Armenian authorities on Wednesday arrested a prominent Christian cleric, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, along with 15 other people and charged them with orchestrating a plot to overthrow the government.

Armenia’s Investigative Committee said it had filed criminal charges against Galstanyan and 15 others whom they said had “acquired the means and tools necessary to commit a terrorist attack and seize power.”

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the authorities had thwarted a “large and sinister plan by the ‘criminal-oligarchic clergy’” to take power in Armenia, a former Soviet republic in the South Caucasus.

Galstanyan’s arrest is part of a growing confrontation between Pashinyan and the powerful Armenian Apostolic Church.

Reuters

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