Prominent Armenian-Russian businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan was arrested and charged under Article 422, Part 2 of the Criminal Code for publicly calling to seize power, in what his legal team and supporters describe as a politically motivated attempt to intimidate dissenting voices.
Lawyer Armen Feroyan, Karapetyan’s attorney, confirmed the charge. Another lawyer, Liana Gasparyan, stated that, according to their information, the investigator has requested Karapetyan’s pretrial detention, and this request will be considered at the Avan Court.
Karapetyan, who resides in Russia and owns the Tashir Group conglomerate—including major assets in Armenia such as the Electric Networks of Armenia, Dalma Garden Mall, and the Tashir Pizza chain—was detained late Tuesday night following a raid on his villa in Yerevan.
The arrest came shortly after he publicly expressed support for the Armenian Apostolic Church in an interview outside the Cathedral published by News.am, denouncing the government’s campaign against the Church.
“What opinion should I have when a small clique, forgetting Armenian history and the thousands of years of our Church, attacks it?” Karapetyan said. “Since I have always stood with the Armenian Church and the Armenian people, I will be directly involved. If the politicians fail, then we will participate in our own way.”
Following the interview, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan began posting a series of inflammatory messages on his social media pages.
“Why have the prostitute ‘clergymen’ and their prostitute ‘benefactors’ become so active? No worries, we’ll silence them again. This time, for good,” he wrote in one post. In another comment, widely interpreted as a veiled insult directed at Karapetyan, Pashinyan added:
“This isn’t your Kaluga region’s Nizhny Tapri village. This is the Republic of Armenia. I hope the taste of state power stays in your mouth.”
On Wednesday, Pashinyan called for the nationalization of Electric Networks of Armenia, owned by Karapetyan’s Tashir Group.
“I believe the time has come for ENA to be nationalized,” Pashinyan wrote. “This will happen quickly, and my instruction to all ENA employees is to continue fulfilling their duties in good faith.”
The Russian government responded to these developments with concern. Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Moscow is closely monitoring the situation:
“We are carefully watching the situation surrounding Russian citizen Karapetyan, who is reportedly being threatened with arrest in Yerevan under strange pretexts.”
The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin also condemned the actions against Karapetyan.
“According to recent information, shortly after publicly expressing his support for the Armenian Church, law enforcement authorities attempted to detain national benefactor Samvel Karapetyan. A search is currently being conducted at his residence,” the Church said.
The Mother See denounced the actions as political persecution. “We strongly condemn this persecution, which is clearly driven by political motives. We call on the Armenian authorities to immediately cease these unlawful actions,” the statement added.
In what political analysts see as a connected development, Prime Minister Pashinyan removed Armen Abazyan from his role as Director of the National Security Service (NSS).
On June 18, during a conversation with journalists in the National Assembly, Pashinyan addressed the question of why National Security Service (NSS) Director Armen Abazyan was dismissed from his post.
“His entire tenure was extremely difficult. I believe he deserves some rest, as he has served as NSS Director under very tense conditions for the past five years. I don’t think it has been easy,” he said.
As for the question of whether Abazyan had refused to carry out any orders, the Prime Minister said: “The NSS Director could not have refused to carry out any of my orders.”
Political experts and opposition figures have strongly criticized Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s actions, describing them as illegal and an abuse of power.
Mane Tandilyan, leader of the Aprelu Yerkir political party, stated that Nikol Pashinyan, through his statements and actions, is implementing the well-known principle of “I am the state,” meaning that if someone speaks against him, it is considered as speaking against the state.
“They try to suppress the justifiable dissatisfaction accumulating in society through fear, labeling, and insults, forgetting that it is impossible to keep the people silent for long,” she added.
