2 government opponents arrested in Armenia in 1 month, says Reuters

Armenian authorities on Wednesday arrested a prominent Christian cleric, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, along with 13 other people and charged them with orchestrating a plot to overthrow the government. In a statement, Armenia’s Investigative Committee said it had filed criminal charges against Galstanyan and 15 others whom they said had “acquired the means and tools necessary to commit a terrorist attack and seize power”, Reuters writes.

As noted, this was the second arrest of a prominent government opponent this month, after Russian-based Armenian businessman Samvel Karapetyan was arrested on charges of publicly calling for a seizure of power.

Reuters was unable to immediately reach Galstanyan’s lawyer, while lawyers for Karapetyan said the businessman denies wrongdoings.

The publication notes that Pashinyan rose to power on a wave of street protests in 2018, but came under heavy domestic pressure after major losses to Azerbaijan in a brief war in 2020. In 2023, Azerbaijan retook the whole of the mountain enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, where ethnic Armenians had enjoyed de facto independence for decades.

Tapping into popular anger over defeats and territorial concessions, Galstanyan and his supporters led days of street protests last summer to demand the removal of Pashinyan. Pashinyan, who faces parliamentary elections in June 2026, has moved towards signing a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, although tensions between the two countries remain high and the number of reported ceasefire violations has surged this year. Formerly part of the Soviet Union, Armenia borders Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iran. It is a treaty ally of Russia, but relations with Moscow have been strained in recent years. Asked about the alleged coup plot, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was Armenia’s internal affair, but Russia was interested in maintaining peace and order there.