Law enforcement authorities have thwarted a coup attempt in Armenia involving a clergyman, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced on Wednesday. “Law enforcement officers have foiled a large-scale sinister plot by the oligarchic criminal clergy aimed at destabilizing the Republic of Armenia and seizing power,” Pashinyan wrote on Telegram.
According to the Armenian Investigative Committee, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan of the Armenian Apostolic Church was linked to the coup attempt. Last year, he led a movement demanding Pashinyan’s resignation over his decision to cede territory to Azerbaijan.
The Investigative Committee stated that Archbishop Galstanyan “obtained the means and tools necessary to carry out terrorist attacks and seize power with the preliminary consent of several members of the movement.”
Searches are currently underway at the residences of the archbishop and approximately 30 of his associates.
MP Garnik Danielyan, a close ally of the archbishop, condemned the government’s actions, calling them worthy of a “dictatorial regime,” and rejected the accusations against the clergyman.
According to human rights organizations and opposition parties, Armenian police detained several opposition figures on Friday, including some affiliated with Archbishop Galstanyan’s movement.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenia has fought several wars with Azerbaijan over control of Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave within Azerbaijani territory that was previously predominantly inhabited by ethnic Armenians. In September 2023, Baku regained full control of the region, prompting tens of thousands of Armenians to flee.
In recent years, Prime Minister Pashinyan’s relations with influential figures in the Armenian Apostolic Church have significantly deteriorated. In early June, the prime minister called on followers of the Church to depose its leader, Patriarch Karekin II, who has repeatedly criticized Pashinyan’s handling of the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis. In turn, Karekin II has called for Pashinyan’s resignation.