The Armenian authorities have raided the home of Russian–Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan after he made statements in defence of the Armenian Apostolistic Church amidst ongoing tensions between it and the government.
‘If the politicians fail, then we will participate in our own way in all of this’, Karapetyan said in an interview with News.am on Tuesday.
Hours later, the authorities raided and searched his mansion in Yerevan, from where he was seen being escorted by the police after midnight. Deputy police chief Vardan Vardanyan was seen among the police escorting Karapetyan.
Karapetyan has been charged with ‘public calls for the ‘usurpation of power, the violation of territorial integrity, or the violent overthrow of the constitutional order’. If found guilty, he could face up to five years in prison. One of his lawyers, Armen Feroyan, called the criminal proceedings ‘unlawful’ and said that Karapetyan maintains his innocence.
The Russian–Armenian billionaire is the head of the Tashir Group which runs Armenia’s main power company, the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA).
Following his interview, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote a series of social media posts insulting both the Church and Karapetyan, vowing to ‘deactivate them again. And forever’.
As the searches were underway at Karapetyan’s mansion, Pashinyan made several other posts, in which he quoted Karapetyan’s remarks in the interview, responding with: ‘Now I will intervene with you in my own way’.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Internal Affairs told CivilNet that ‘a group of people have been detained’.
On Wednesday, one of Karapetyan’s lawyers, Ruben Hakobyan reported that more than 50 people were detained near Karapetyan’s house and were held in custody for longer than the prescribed period.
Tensions between Pashinyan and the Church reached an all-time high after Pashinyan claimed in late May that churches had become ‘storerooms’ and that clergymen were breaking their vows of celibacy. Pashinyan additionally accused Karekin II of having a child.
Pashinyan, his wife, Anna Hakobyan, and other members of his Civil Contract party have since regularly attacked the Church and the clergy. Most recently, Pashinyan called for the establishment of a council, some of whose members he would personally appoint, to elect a new Catholicos.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
‘No one can threaten Armenia’
During a press briefing on Wednesday, Pashinyan commented on the developments around Karapetyan, claiming that the tycoon’s statement was not about the church, but instead about Armenia.
‘An attempt was made to create the impression that some people from some places can come to […] Armenia and, as they say, do something “in their own way” ’, Pashinyan said, adding that Armenia had ‘concrete levers to react’.
Noting that Armenia was a democratic country, Pashinyan added that no one ‘can threaten Armenia, I will take the strongest and strictest measures in any such case’.
Earlier on Wednesday, Pashinyan fired National Security Service (NSS) Director Armen Abazyan.
Commenting on the dismissal during the same briefing, Pashinyan said that Abazyan was the longest-serving NSS chief during his term and that Abazyan’s ‘tenure was extremely difficult and I think he deserves a little rest’.
Pashinyan also appeared to confirm that Abazyan’s dismissal was connected to Karapetyan’s case, saying ‘overall the work of the NSS director pertains to virtually everything, especially security-related, including hybrid security’.
Pashinyan dismissed rumours that Abazyan was dismissed for refusing to carry out his orders.
Armenia fines and inspects Karapetyan’s businesses
Following his detention, Karapetyan reiterated his support for the church when leaving his home on Tuesday night, adding that he didn’t ‘give a damn about them or their electricity network’.
In response, Pashinyan vowed to ‘swiftly’ nationalise Karapetyan’s ENA, announcing on Wednesday that a bill to do so had already been submitted to parliament. However, he claimed the move was not related to statements Karapetyan had made in support of the church.
Instead, Pashinyan suggested that a month ago, he instructed members of his cabinet to introduce ‘clear mechanisms to compensate for the damage caused to the people [due to power outages], or the ENA must be nationalised’. On Wednesday, he said that the deadline for his instructions was 21 June.
‘During numerous regional visits, I noted with surprise and anger that, in fact, the ENA, as a result of its activities, has almost created an energy crisis in Armenia. Now, the analysis at least gives reason to think […] that all this was done and is being done to generate internal public discontent in Armenia’, Pashinyan said.
He also suggested that the church was ‘just a smokescreen for the soon-to-be former owners of the ENA in this case’.
On the same day, Armenia fined ENA ֏10 million ($26,000) ‘for technical and commercial violations’, the Public Services Regulatory Commission announced.
The Food Safety Inspection Body also carried out searches in all 30 branches of Tashir Pizza, a popular pizza chain belonging to Karapetyan, shutting down several branches for ‘gross violations of sanitary and hygienic standards’.
Russia ‘closely monitoring’
Citing Karapetyan’s Russian citizenship, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told Russian state news agency RIA that they were ‘closely monitoring’ the situation, adding that Karapetyan ‘is being threatened in Yerevan with almost arrest under strange pretexts’.
Zakharova also said that they would provide him ‘with the necessary assistance so that all his legal rights are respected’.
The Russian Embassy, however, refrained from offering any comments for the moment in response to TASS, another Russian state-owned agency.
On Tuesday, in an interview with Russia’s RT, Karapetyan said the Armenian authorities ‘wanted to stage a show with masks and arrest me. But the people, the ordinary people who gathered in the yard, resisted’.
As the searches were underway, a group of people gathered near Karapetyan’s mansion, among whom were opposition MPs. On Wednesday, the Armenian authorities claimed that employees of ENA ‘are being guided to participate in a rally in Yerevan’ in support of Karapetyan’.
The Church ‘strongly condemn[ed]’ Karapetyan’s persecution, calling it ‘clearly politically motivated’. It also urged the authorities to ‘immediately stop their illegal actions’. The opposition Armenia Alliance, Republican party and others also condemned ‘repression’ against Karapetyan.
According to TASS, the fortune of Karapetyan ‘is almost comparable to half of the Armenian state budget’, amounting to $3.2 billion.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
