Armenians Rally To Free Gov’t Critic

By Staff, Agencies

Protesters marched in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, on Saturday, demanding the release of Russian-Armenian billionaire and government critic, Samvel Karapetyan.

The tycoon’s wife and three children took part in the rally, which was organized by the opposition Mer Dzevov [Our Way] movement.

Karapetyan was arrested in June on charges of inciting a coup and money laundering. The businessman had publicly condemned Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s crackdown on the clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, which the government accuses of corruption and political meddling.

Addressing the crowd outside Yerevan’s main detention center on Saturday, Karapetyan’s lawyer, Aram Vardevanyan, said his client is ready to lead a new political party in the next election.

Tensions between Pashinyan and Armenia’s national church began in 2020 when the church’s top cleric, Catholicos Garegin II, called on the prime minister to resign amid mass protests. Pashinyan has since argued that Garegin is unfit for his position and should step down.

This week, police detained Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, the head of the Diocese of Aragatsotn, and five other clergymen on charges of abuse of power and fraud.

Earlier this month, Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan was sentenced to two years in prison for inciting a coup, a case he described as politically motivated.