Archbishop Bagrat detention extended for two months

PanARMENIAN.Net - The pre-trial detention of Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan has been extended by another two months following a court ruling.

During another hearing in the Sacred Struggle case, presiding Judge Karen Farkhoyan partially granted the prosecutor’s motion, which had sought a three-month extension of detention, instead prolonging it by two months.

Public prosecutor Hayk Hovhannisyan argued that the case remains at the preliminary hearing stage and that Archbishop Bagrat could obstruct the normal course of the judicial process. Those present in the courtroom responded to the motion with chants of “freedom,” Sputnik Armenia reported.

The archbishop’s lawyer, Hovhannes Khudoyan, stressed that the procedure is unlawful and maintained that the only legitimate resolution in the case would be its dismissal.

Archbishop Bagrat stated that he would not accept house arrest as an alternative preventive measure.

“I will not accept bail either. There is absolutely no need for it. I will not accept an electronic device — that ‘muzzle,’ the ankle monitor. The ban on leaving the country is the most humiliating. The only option is to leave from here, but that is not freedom either, it is merely a change of conditions,” he said.

Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan was detained on the night of June 25–26, 2025. Armenia’s Investigative Committee stated that participants and leaders of the “Sacred Struggle” movement had planned terrorist acts in Armenia and actions aimed at seizing power.

On August 21, Judge Karen Farkhoyan extended his detention by three months, and on November 13, it was again extended for another three months.