‘My fallen brothers, my fallen children would not forgive me if I weren’t the accused’ — Archbishop Mikael

A court session is underway at the Court of General Jurisdiction of the Avan and Nor Nork administrative districts of Yerevan, concerning the criminal case against Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, head of the Shirak Diocese. During his closing statement, the Archbishop said, “Why am I standing here now as the accused? Because my fallen brothers from 1992-1994, my peers, would not allow me to be anywhere else. Because my fallen children from 2020 would not allow me to be anywhere else.

I must be exactly where I am. This government, which has erased both the achievements of my brothers from 1992–1994 and the martyrdom of 5,000 eighteen-year-old boys—my children—in 2020, leaves me no other place to be. I am in the most rightful place. I wouldn’t want to be in the position of the defenders, who speak to a wall. I wouldn’t want to be in the place of my people, who sit there suffering from this injustice. And I certainly wouldn’t want to be in the place of the prosecutors—God forbid—and I have never wished to be in the place of the court.”

In his remarks, he emphasized that under the current government, being accused—even for political reasons—is a matter of honor, joy, and happiness.