Marukyan blasts political prosecution of Karapetyan

PanARMENIAN.Net - Edmon Marukyan, chairman of the “Bright Armenia” party, stated on Telegram that businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan has been illegally charged and detained, and that everyone involved in these actions “will be prosecuted.”

He questioned whether Karapetyan’s arrest wasn’t possible for Azerbaijani President Aliyev—implying that only Armenia’s authorities are behind this move, just as they did with former Artsakh official Ruben Vardanyan.

“Prime Minister Pashinyan first gave instructions to investigators, then directly to the court,” Marukyan wrote. “When the PM wants someone arrested, he decides how to interpret their words—and the court follows.”

According to Marukyan, the legal article applied to Karapetyan wouldn’t normally justify pre-trial detention. He called the case a clear instance of political persecution, planned by Pashinyan and executed by a submissive judiciary.

“This sends a message to every businessman. If a billionaire can’t feel protected in Armenia, what safety can a small or medium entrepreneur expect?”

He concluded: “I strongly condemn the political persecution against Samvel Karapetyan, orchestrated by Nikol Pashinyan and carried out by the judiciary under his control.”

On the night of June 18, Karapetyan left his Yerevan residence with law enforcement. He was later questioned by the Investigative Committee and detained for two months on charges of publicly calling for the seizure of government powers.

Earlier that day, Karapetyan had voiced support for the Armenian Apostolic Church, stating: “I stand with our Church and our people. No matter how much they try to smear us, no electric grid... I don’t care about them or their grid. Everything will be fine; the people will speak, and they’ll realize their mistake.”

In response, Prime Minister Pashinyan posted: “Why have the depraved ‘clergy’ and their depraved ‘philanthropists’ become active? No worries—we’ll silence them again. For good.” He later added that Armenia’s electric grid must be quickly nationalized.