Samvel Karapetyan is wanted by Azerbaijani authorities and has been held in an RA prison for more than 177 days, Vardevanyan says

At an invited press conference, Aram Vardevanyan, a member of Samvel Karapetyan’s legal team, stated that a deliberate effort is being made to keep Samvel Karapetyan under arrest at all costs.

“One of the core issues is that a direct political decision was made to exert pressure, to diminish, and to interfere with our identity and our Mother See. National benefactor Samvel Karapetyan stands as an obstacle to such actions. Why has defending the Mother See become an illegal act in the Republic of Armenia? Does participating in the protection of the Church in our own way lead to 177 days of detention?” Vardevanyan said.

He emphasized that the judges issuing these decisions, the supervising prosecutor, and the investigators implementing them are all citizens of Armenia. “Samvel Karapetyan is wanted by the Azerbaijani authorities and has been held in a prison in the Republic of Armenia for more than 177 days,” he added.

According to Vardevanyan, another reason he considers Karapetyan a political hostage is the situation involving the Electricity Networks of Armenia (ENA), when authorities decided to revoke Karapetyan’s license. He noted that this matter is currently under review by the Constitutional Court, which must consider negotiations and potential compensation.

He also pointed out that, despite legal provisions allowing a case of significant public interest to be heard orally, the Constitutional Court declined to do so.