Armenia Demands Re-Arrest of Russian Billionaire

The Armenian Prosecutor General's Office has appealed the court's decision to change the pretrial detention of billionaire and Russian citizen Samvel Karapetyan from pretrial detention to house arrest. According to the businessman's lawyer, Aram Vardevanyan, the prosecutor's office insists on Karapetyan's re-arrest.

Meanwhile, the businessman's defense team also appealed the house arrest decision, seeking its complete revocation and deeming the measure unfounded. Vardevanyan called the situation political persecution and stated that there are no legal grounds for his client's arrest.

"There is no justification, no basis, but an entirely illegal, humiliating, and lawless position that Samvel Karapetyan must be arrested. This absurd political persecution has been going on for nearly seven months," the lawyer protested.

In late 2025, Samvel Karapetyan, arrested in Armenia on charges of calling for a coup d'état, had his pretrial detention reduced. His pretrial detention was replaced by house arrest. Karapetyan, arrested in June 2025 after speaking out in defense of the Armenian Apostolic Church (which followed Prime Minister Pashinyan's criticism of church representatives), denies his guilt. In addition to charges of calling for a coup d'état, the Russian businessman, who advocates for Armenia's close integration with Russia, is accused of money laundering through several companies, a charge his defense considers baseless.

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