Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Court has ordered opposition “Strong Armenia” party leader and businessman Samvel Karapetyan detained for one month, as Pashinyan’s government faces growing accusations of using criminal proceedings to pressure political opponents and the Armenian Apostolic Church.
The November 5 ruling follows a large-scale security operation targeting Karapetyan, his relatives and business associates, just days after Nikol Pashinyan called for public pressure on opposition forces refusing to support a constitutional referendum sought by Azerbaijan.
On November 4, investigators and National Security Service (NSS) officers conducted simultaneous searches at 65 locations, including properties associated with Karapetyan and his nephew, Narek Karapetyan, who leads the “Strong Armenia” parliamentary faction.
Karapetyan was subsequently taken into custody despite already being under house arrest in separate criminal proceedings.
The Investigative Committee alleges that Karapetyan organized financial offenses between 2016 and 2024 that caused Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), previously controlled by his business interests, approximately 64.5 billion AMD ($179 million) in damages.
Criminal prosecution has been initiated against 36 individuals over allegations involving large-scale embezzlement, money laundering and abuse of authority in the private sector. The accusations remain unproven in court.
The “Strong Armenia” party condemned the latest detention as political persecution, directly accusing Pashinyan of using state institutions to suppress opposition to constitutional changes demanded by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
In a November 5 statement, the party alleged that the decision demonstrated that state institutions were following Pashinyan’s instructions. It linked Karapetyan’s detention to his party’s refusal to support constitutional amendments that the opposition argues would undermine Armenia’s sovereignty.
Narek Karapetyan also accused Pashinyan of attempting to use the threat of renewed detention to secure opposition support for a constitutional referendum.
The latest developments follow Karapetyan’s initial arrest in June 2025, shortly after he publicly defended the Armenian Apostolic Church amid Pashinyan’s escalating campaign against its leadership.
That confrontation has since expanded into criminal proceedings against senior clergy, including Catholicos Karekin II and six other church leaders. Pashinyan has repeatedly demanded the Catholicos’s resignation, while Church representatives have condemned the proceedings as an attack on the institution’s independence.
Karapetyan spent approximately six months in pretrial detention before being transferred to house arrest in December 2025.
His prosecution has also coincided with Pashinyan’s government’s efforts to take control of ENA. Despite emergency measures issued through international arbitration, the authorities continued the takeover process, including an October 2026 decision declaring the company’s shares subject to acquisition for overriding public interest.
The renewed detention triggered an immediate response from opposition forces, whose representatives gathered at Karapetyan’s residence on November 4 and announced a nationwide political consolidation.
Despite their political differences, the participating parties agreed to coordinate around four priorities: rejecting constitutional changes they describe as imposed by Aliyev, securing peace without unilateral concessions or territorial losses, protecting Armenian national identity and the Armenian Apostolic Church, and restoring democratic rights and freedoms.
The developments come as Pashinyan’s ruling majority lacks the parliamentary votes required to authorize a constitutional referendum without opposition support.
Karapetyan’s return to custody places one of the country’s most prominent opposition leaders behind bars as political forces organize against the constitutional changes and Pashinyan’s government faces renewed allegations of politically motivated prosecutions.
