Archbishop Mikael Ajapahian's house arrest has been lifted.

An appeals court in Armenia has overturned the house arrest of Archbishop Mikael Ajapakhyan, head of the Shirak Diocese, but left his travel ban in place. The archbishop's case has been transferred to the Shirak Regional Court of First Instance.

As reported by Caucasian Knot, in early February 2026, the appellate court granted the defense motion of Archbishop Mikael Ajapayan, Primate of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and transferred him from prison to house arrest.

On June 25, the Court of Appeal overturned the decision of the court of first instance in the case of the Primate of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Archbishop Mikael Ajapakhyan, and the case was transferred to the court of first instance of general jurisdiction of the Shirak region for a new trial, News.am reported today.

The house arrest imposed on Archbishop Mikael has been lifted, but the ban on leaving the country remains unchanged.

Lawyer Ara Zohrabyan, commenting on today's court decision in the case of Archbishop Mikael, stated that under intense pressure, it was a bold decision, the publication reports. mamul.am.

"Considering the pressure placed on the courts, we truly consider this decision courageous. While we see every reason for acquittal, it is still important that the Criminal Court of Appeal found a violation of the canon of jurisdiction, stating that this case should be heard by the general jurisdiction court of the Shirak region, and on this basis, the judicial decision was overturned," the lawyer added.

Ajapakhyan himself, in a conversation with journalists, warned security forces against persecuting Catholicos of Armenia Garegin.

"God forbid, if His Holiness is arrested, the entire Armenian people will pay for it. Just as the Armenian people paid for 1938 with hundreds of thousands of victims, so they will pay after this," the archbishop stated in a conversation with journalists.

When a journalist asked whether the church would overcome the campaign launched against it, Ajapakhyan replied: "What test has it not overcome that it will not overcome this?"

More details about the case of Ajapakhyan and other political opponents of the current government are provided in the "Caucasian Knot" report "The Main Thing About Political Arrests in Armenia in the Summer of 2025".