Samvel Karapetyan barred from visiting father’s grave, lawyer says

Prominent Armenian businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan was denied permission to visit his father’s grave during a religious day of remembrance, his lawyer reported on Wednesday.

Aram Vardevanyan said authorities rejected a request to allow the visit despite Karapetyan being under house arrest rather than in custody.

Karapetyan’s pre-trial detention, imposed on June 18, was replaced with house arrest and additional restrictions on December 30.

“For Samvel Karapetyan, as for any follower of the Armenian Apostolic Church, it was extremely important to visit his father’s grave on the Day of Remembrance and to mourn humanely with close relatives,” Vardevanyan wrote on Facebook.

He said the request was denied without providing further details and criticised the decision as lacking basic humanitarian consideration.