BREAKING: After six months in pre-trial detention, political prisoner Samvel Karapetyan has been placed under house arrest.
Karapetyan was arrested on June 18, 2025, shortly after publicly warning Pashinyan that red lines had been crossed in the campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church and other core national institutions. He stated that society would not remain passive and would defend its faith, country, and constitutional order.
Pashinyan responded publicly on Facebook. That same day, Pashinyan’s government opened a criminal case against Karapetyan, accusing him of alleged public calls to seize power and undermine the constitutional order. His defense rejects the charges as retaliatory and rooted in political speech rather than any concrete action.
The arrest came amid Pashinyan’s escalating attacks on the Armenian Apostolic Church over recent months. During this period, Pashinyan pursued a public campaign against the Church and the Catholicos, including openly demanding his resignation, deliberately referring to him by his given name instead of his ecclesiastical title, attending liturgies with defrocked priests, and meeting with dissenting clergy in an apparent effort to create a rift within the Church.
Samvel Karapetyan is one of the Armenian Church’s key benefactors. His public defense of the Church placed him in direct opposition to Pashinyan’s government.
The case also followed an intensified campaign against Karapetyan’s business interests. Over the same months, Pashinyan’s government moved against Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), the country’s main electricity distributor owned by Karapetyan’s Tashir Group. After inspections, fines, and regulatory pressure, Pashinyan appointed Romanos Petrosyan to take control of the company. In November 2025, the Public Services Regulatory Commission revoked ENA’s electricity distribution license, completing a politically driven seizure of the company.
Karapetyan denies all accusations. His legal team maintains that his detention is political in nature and intended to punish dissent. The move to house arrest marks a shift in the handling of the case, though the criminal proceedings remain ongoing.
