Anti-Corruption Court extends Samvel Karapetyan's detention

Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Court on Tuesday extended the detention of prominent businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan for two more months, his lawyer Aram Vardevanyan told reporters after the court hearing.

Vardevanyan criticized the decision as politically motivated, claiming the judge “fully followed” predictions published earlier by Haykakan Zhamanak (Armenian Times), a newspaper owned by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's family. He said the defense had cited the newspaper article during the hearing, prompting an indignant reaction from the judge.

Karapetyan’s international lawyer, Robert Amsterdam, had earlier accused the Armenian authorities of “telephone justice” after the same outlet predicted the extension ahead of the ruling.

Karapetyan was arrested on June 18 after publicly expressing support for the Armenian Apostolic Church and criticizing Pashinyan’s government. He was initially charged with publicly calling for the seizure of power in Armenia, allegations he denied as politically motivated.

Investigators later expanded the case to include large-scale money-laundering charges under Article 296(3) of the Criminal Code.

Tuesday’s ruling marks the third extension of Karapetyan’s pre-trial detention.