Overview

• Armenia’s Investigative Committee charged Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan and 15 others with acquiring weapons and planning terrorist attacks to seize power
• Authorities allege the group recruited over 1,000 mainly ex-soldiers and police officers to block roads, incite violence and cut internet access
• Investigators published audio recordings purportedly capturing Galstanyan discussing tactics for destabilizing the government
• Galstanyan’s lawyer denounces the charges as fabricated and says searches at his home yielded only standard protest smoke bombs
• The arrest follows billionaire Samvel Karapetyan’s detention and underscores deepening state–church rifts since Armenia’s Karabakh defeat