Armenian court upholds arrest of tycoon Karapetyan

An Armenian appeals court has upheld the detention of Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who faces charges of inciting the seizure of power.

The decision comes despite Karapetyan’s legal team previously withdrawing their appeal against an earlier court ruling ordering his arrest, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

His defence had argued that the judge assigned to hear the appeal, Armen Danielyan, lacked the impartiality required to oversee the case.

Nevertheless, the Appeals Court proceeded with reviewing the original complaint and ultimately rejected the motion to release him from custody.

To recall, Samvel Karapetyan, founder of the Tashir Group and Electricity Networks of Armenia, was arrested in Yerevan on 18 June following a police search of his home.

He faces charges under Part 2 of Article 422 of Armenia’s Criminal Code for allegedly making “public calls to seize power” after he criticised the government’s stance on the Armenian Apostolic Church, warning that “if politicians fail … we will intervene in our own way.” A court has since ordered his detention for two months pending trial.

His legal team has dismissed the charges as politically motivated, arguing that the arrest is an attempt to silence his support for the Church.

By Aghakazim Guliyev