The defense side of the well-known businessman and politician Samvel Karapetyan, who is under house arrest, expresses absolute confidence in his early and complete release.
Lawyer: Aram Vardevanyan according to him, the criminal prosecution against the philanthropist is absurd, and Karapetyan himself, despite the months spent in the isolation cell of the special services, maintains a high mood and continues to work on the country’s development programs.
During the meeting with citizens, lawyer Aram Vardevanyan emphasized that their concept of “strong Armenia” is not based on abstract dreams, but on concrete, applied steps. He mentioned five key programs that are able to really change the life of the society. Evaluating the events of the last nine months, the lawyer described what is happening in the country as unprecedented. As an example, he pointed out the arrests of clergymen, the pressures on the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the unprecedented criminal prosecution against Karapetyan himself. The businessman’s thought that they “will participate in the defense of the church in their own way” became the reason for depriving them of their freedom.
Vardevanyan drew special attention to the state of mind of his client. According to him, having spent more than seven months in the investigative isolation cell of the National Security Service, and now being under house arrest, Karapetyan does not show any malice or depression. The lawyer said that during the visits to the National Security Service detention center, it was the accused who raised the spirits of the defenders by showing a smile and endurance. Vardevanyan is convinced that in order to unite the divided Armenian society, a humanitarian approach free from political bile is necessary, and it is this worldview that Karapetyan shares.
Let’s remind that the arrest of Samvel Karapetyan, a major philanthropist, owner of the “Tashir” group of companies, was one of the most sensational events of last year. His arrest took place against the backdrop of a sharp crisis in relations between the state and the Armenian Apostolic Church. From the beginning, the Armenian opposition described this case as an open political order aimed at neutralizing an influential opponent and weakening its structures financially. The situation worsened dramatically after the state’s decision to de facto expropriate Karapetyan’s company “Electrical Grids of Armenia” (HETC). Opposition forces called this move illegal seizure and redistribution of property.
The Armenian authorities, for their part, categorically deny the accusations of political motives, claiming that the arrest of the businessman and the nationalization of the strategic energy asset were dictated solely by the interests of national security and the need to restore legality in the economic field.
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