Ex-President of Armenia called Karapetyan's arrest a national disgrace

The arrest of Samvel Karapetyan, a Russian businessman and head of the Tashir Group of companies, is a national disgrace, former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan said on June 19.

"What happened to Samvel Karapetyan was another shameful act of the pocket judicial system. It is a national disgrace when a major investor <...> goes to prison for speaking out in defense of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church (APC)," he wrote on Facebook (owned by Meta, a company whose activities are recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation).

According to the ex-president, Karapetyan was "thrown into prison for no reason." The ex-president called the change of power in the country the only way out of the current situation. Kocharyan believes that Armenia is plunging into total dictatorship, the consequences of which, according to the former leader, are unpredictable.

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The arrest of the philanthropist became known on June 18. On the same day, he was charged with calling for the seizure of power in Armenia. After that, protesters began to gather in the streets in support of the philanthropist. Armenian politician Arman Abovyan called the businessman's detention an attempt to weaken the influence of the APC.