Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Court has extended businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan’s pre-trial detention by two months, his lawyer Aram Vardevanyan told reporters, according to Sputnik Armenia.
Vardevanyan criticized the process, pointing to an article published in Haykakan Zhamanak daily on the evening of November 17 that predicted the court’s decision hours before it was announced. He claimed the media outlet’s report preemptively outlined the court outcome and remained unchanged by 11 p.m. the same night. “We raised the issue during the hearing, and while the judge expressed frustration about the implication, he ended up fully matching the media’s ‘prediction,’” he said.
Karapetyan’s home was searched on June 17, one day after he publicly defended the Armenian Apostolic Church, accusing a “small group” of attacking the church and the Armenian people by ignoring national history. He was arrested on June 18 for two months. On August 15, Judge Tigran Davtyan extended the detention by another two months.
Karapetyan faces charges under three articles of Armenia’s Criminal Code: Article 290 (tax evasion), Article 296 (money laundering), and Article 422 (public calls to seize power, violate territorial integrity, renounce sovereignty, or overthrow constitutional order).
On October 13, prosecutors added new charges under Article 296, Part 3, clauses 2 and 3, accusing Karapetyan of laundering large sums of money using his official position or related influence.
On October 16, the court partially upheld a request from the investigative team, extending detention by one month. The court found that economic charges lacked reasonable suspicion, but deemed statements made by Karapetyan in interviews could be interpreted as calls for a violent power grab.
