Businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan has been in pre-trial detention for over 60 days without legal grounds, solely for defending the Armenian Apostolic Church, attorney Aram Vardevanyan stated.
“Let us not rule out that Judge Armen Danielyan of the Court of Appeals is being considered for transfer to the Anti-Corruption Court of Appeals, as Karapetyan’s appeal is to be reviewed there,” Vardevanyan noted.
On August 18, 2025, a special appeal was submitted against the Anti-Corruption Court’s decision to extend Karapetyan’s unlawful detention. As of August 22, no judge from the appellate panel had been assigned to the case.
By contrast, Vardevanyan reminded that when an appeal was filed against Karapetyan’s initial detention on June 18, a judge (Armen Danielyan) had been assigned within 24 hours, by June 20.
“This time, the same process has not been followed, even though Karapetyan has now spent more than 60 days in illegal detention. His arrest stems solely from remarks defending the Mother See in an interview. This is just one more piece of evidence showing the unlawful and politically motivated nature of this case,” Vardevanyan said, as reported by Aysor.am .
Karapetyan was detained on June 18 for two months. He is charged with inciting the violent overthrow of the constitutional order and seizure of power. He denies the accusations, while his legal team claims the case is baseless.
The Court of Criminal Appeals has ruled that Karapetyan’s initial arrest was unlawful.
