Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has filed a motion to place prominent businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan under arrest, according to his lawyer Aram Vardevanyan. Karapetyan is currently under house arrest.
“On January 5, 2026, the first working day of the year, the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Investigative Committee took only two actions:
- Filed an appeal against the house arrest decision, explicitly requesting Samvel Karapetyan’s detention.
- Rejected Karapetyan’s petition to visit his father’s grave on Memorial Day,” Vardevanyan wrote on Facebook.
“Our legal team has already filed, and will continue to file, appeals against the house arrest decision. But a critical question arises: when Armenia’s Constitutional Court and the European Court recognize that house arrest and detention equally restrict rights, and Karapetyan has been subjected to extensive additional limitations, how can prosecutors justify their appeal?” the post continued.
“The answer is clear: there is no justification. No legal basis exists, only an overtly unlawful stance that disregards rights and demands Karapetyan’s imprisonment.”
Vardevanyan called the proceedings a case of “blatant political persecution” that has lasted for about seven months, and said more details on the developments would be shared soon.
“Law must prevail. Freedom for all political prisoners,” the post concluded.
Karapetyan’s pre-trial detention was replaced with bail and house arrest on December 30.
