Lawyer: Samvel Karapetyan unlawfully detained for over 120 days

Lawyer Aram Vardevanyan has accused Armenia's law enforcement authorities of pursuing a politically motivated prosecution against businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan, who has been in detention for more than 120 days.

"Samvel Karapetyan has been unlawfully detained for over 120 days on politically motivated charges," he wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.

Vardevanyan highlighted the sole basis for Karapetyan’s detention is a statement he made on 17 June 2025 in defense of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, which investigators allege amounted to a call for the seizure of power in Armenia.

According to the lawyer, no credible evidence supports the additional economic charges against Karapetyan. He noted that large-scale rallies in July and October 2025, organized in support of Karapetyan, took place peacefully without a single administrative offence.

Vardevanyan described the case as “a primitive denial of law and blatant political persecution".