By Gayane Saribekian
YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — An Armenian appeals court upheld on Monday, September 8, a lower court’s decision to extend the pre-trial arrest of billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who is expected to challenge Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in next year’s parliamentary elections.
The Yerevan court of first instance allowed investigators last month to hold Karapetyan in detention for two more months on charges rejected by him as politically motivated. The tycoon’s lawyers appealed against the decision.
The Court of Appeals upheld it, refusing to order his release from custody. One of the defense lawyers, Aram Vartevanyan, accused the court of ignoring “undeniable objective legal data” presented by him and his colleagues.
Karapetyan was prosecuted hours after condemning on June 17 Pashinyan’s attempts to depose the top clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Church and vowing to defend it “in our own way.” His statement immediately provoked a series of furious social media posts by Pashinyan.
“Now I will interfere with you in my own way, you scoundrel,” the premier wrote before Karapetyan was arrested and charged with calling for a violent overthrow of the Armenian government.
