Imprisoned Archbishop to be transferred to Yerevan hospital for surgery

A senior archbishop of the Armenian Apostolic Church serving a two-year prison sentence for calling for a coup will be taken to a Yerevan hospital for a surgical procedure, his lawyers announced Thursday.

Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan, the Prelate of the Diocese of Shirak of the Armenian Apostolic Church, will be transferred to the Izmirlian Medical Center in Yerevan for the unspecified surgery. The lawyers said they were officially notified by the penitentiary’s medical service that the transfer has been approved.

Ajapahyan was jailed without bail in June on charges of advocating the violent overthrow of the government. The charges stem from a television interview in which he called for a military overthrow of the government, according to prosecutors. Ajapahyan has denied the accusations, arguing that his remarks do not constitute a criminal offense. He was found guilty and sentenced to two years in October.