The Armenian Criminal Court of Appeal ruled that the arrest of Tashir Group president, businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan was unlawful. His lawyer, Liana Gasparyan, announced the decision on her Facebook page.
According to Gasparyan, the court confirmed that Karapetyan’s arrest on June 18, 2025, was illegal, resulting in his wrongful detention for over nine hours. She noted that this finding marks yet another confirmed violation in the ongoing criminal proceedings against him, specifically his unjustified and unlawful arrest.
Gasparyan also pointed out that the first instance court, presided over by Judge Artak Karapetyan, failed to address this significant aspect of the arrest when issuing its ruling.
On June 18, Karapetyan was placed in pre-trial detention for two months and transferred to Armavir penitentiary on charges of “making public calls aimed at seizing the powers of the Government of Armenia.” Earlier that day, he had made a statement in support of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
In response, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote: “Why have the wicked ‘clergymen’ and their wicked ‘benefactors’ become active again? No worries, we willsilence them again. This time for good.” He later added that the Electric Networks of Armenia should be nationalized swiftly.
