YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia's security services arrested one of the country’s top religious leaders on terrorism charges Wednesday and accused him of plotting to overthrow the government, the second arrest in a week of a prominent political opponent.
Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, a major figure in the influential Apostolic Church, was arrested by Armenia's Investigative Committee, which accused him of planning to carry out bombings and arson attacks to disrupt power supplies and stage accidents on major roads to paralyze traffic. His lawyer described the charges as “fiction.”
Galstanyan leads the Sacred Struggle opposition movement and has demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who was the focus of protests last year by tens of thousands of demonstrators after Armenia agreed to hand over control of several border villages to bitter rival Azerbaijan and to normalize relations between the neighbors.
Sacred Struggle also described the accusations as false and accused the government of repressing political rights.
Galstanyan leads the Tavush Diocese in northeastern Armenia and spearheaded a movement that opposed the handover of the villages in the country, which was once part of the Soviet Union. Although the territorial concession was the movement’s core issue, it has expanded to a wide array of complaints about Pashinyan, who came to power in 2018.
The decision to turn over the villages followed a lightning military campaign in September 2023, in which Azerbaijan’s military forced ethnic Armenian separatists in the Karabakh region to capitulate.
Pashinyan wrote on social media that the security services had foiled a plot by “the criminal oligarch clergy to destabilize Armenia and take power.”
Officials said 13 others also were detained amid raids by police on the homes of dozens of opposition activists. The Investigative Committee said it carried out over 90 searches and recovered evidence that included firearms and ammunition.
In addition to disputing the charges, Galstanyan’s lawyer, Sergei Harutyunyan, said police searched the cleric's residence for six hours but found only smoke bombs that are commonly used at protests in Armenia.
“They spent time studying every room, every closet, every letter; they recorded everything,” Harutyunyan said.
Attempts to impeach Pashinyan were unsuccessful, but the relationship between him and the Apostolic Church has deteriorated.
On June 8, Pashinyan called for church leader Catholicos Karekin II to resign after accusing him of fathering a child despite a vow of celibacy. The church released a statement at the time accusing Pashinyan of undermining Armenia’s “spiritual unity” but did not address the claim about the child.
Pashinyan’s claim sparked fresh anger among the church’s followers, including Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who appeared in a video saying that the religious institution was under attack.
Karapetyan, 59, was detained June 18, days after the clip was posted online, and accused of calling for seizing power in the country. Pashinyan later said the billionaire’s energy company, Electricity Networks of Armenia, would be nationalized.
FILE - Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shake hands before a meeting at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. (Turkish Presidency via AP, file)
FILE - Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, a major figure in the influential Apostolic Church arrested by Armenian authorities on Wednesday, gestures while addressing a crowd during a rally against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan, Armenia, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (Stepan Poghosyan/Photolure via AP, File)
Veteran Australia batter Usman Khawaja has announced he will retire from international cricket after the fifth Ashes test beginning Sunday at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
He didn't go quietly.
The Pakistan-born Khawaja, who was the first Muslim to play for Australia, used his retirement announcement Friday to criticize the “racial" stereotyping he experienced during his career.
It will be the 39-year-old Khawaja's 88th and final test — played at the ground where he began his first-class career. Khawaja scored his first Ashes century at the SCG with 171 against England in 2018.
It was also at that the SCG where he revived his career at age 35, scoring two centuries against England. That prompted one of the great late-career revivals, as Khawaja hit seven centuries in his next two years back in the side.
But Khawaja’s position had come under scrutiny and criticism this season after being unable to open in the first Ashes test in Perth due to back spasms and then missing the Brisbane test with the injury.
He was then initially left out in Adelaide until Steve Smith’s vertigo allowed Khawaja to return, before an 82 in the first innings there ensured he would stay in the side for the fourth test in Melbourne. Australia, with a 3-1 lead going into the fifth test, has retained the Ashes.
Khawaja said he felt he was treated “a little bit different, even to now,” because of his Pakistan and Muslim background.
"Different in the way I’ve been treated, different in how things have happened,” he said at a media conference in Sydney. “I had back spasms, it was something I couldn’t control. The way the media and the past players came out and attacked me . . . I copped it for about five days straight. Everyone was piling in.
“Once the racial stereotypes came in, of me being lazy, it was things I’ve dealt with my whole life. Pakistani, West Indian, colored players...we’re selfish, we only care about ourselves, we don’t care about the team, we don’t train hard enough."
Khawaja said he knew the end of his career was imminent.
“I guess moving into this series, I had an inkling this would be the last series," he said. "I’m glad I can go out on my own terms.”
Khawaja has scored 6,206 runs at an average of 43.49 in his 87 tests with 16 centuries and 28 half-centuries.
“Usman has made a huge contribution to Australian cricket both through his outstanding achievements as one of our most stylish and resilient batters . . . and off field, particularly through the Usman Khawaja Foundation,” Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg said in a statement.
“Usman has been one of Australia’s most reliable opening batters and testament to his success was him being named ICC test cricketer of the year the same season that Australia won the World Test Championship (in 2023).”
Khawaja said his No. 1 emotion on announcing his retirement was “contentment.”
“I’m very lucky to have played so many games for Australia the way I have,” Khawaja said. "I hope I have inspired people along the way.”
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja with his wife Rachel and daughters Aisha and Ayla after announcing that he will retire from international cricket following the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Australia, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Australia Usman Khawaja, centre, sits with teammates after announcing he will retire from international cricket following the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Australia, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Australia Usman Khawaja warms up during a practice session ahead of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Australia, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Australia's Travis Head, right, is congratulated by teammate Usman Khawaja after reaching 50 runs during play on day three of the third Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Adelaide, Australia, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Australia's Usman Khawaja sign autograph to fans after they won the third Ashes cricket test match against England in Adelaide, Australia, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025 (AP Photo/James Elsby)
