The head of the Artsakh Union: Samvel Karapetyan`s detention is Pashinyan`s attempt to retain power

ArmInfo. The detention of Strong Armenia party leader Samvel Karapetyan is yet another manifestation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's authoritarian aspirations aimed at preserving his own power. This opinion was expressed by Artak Beglaryan, head of the Artsakh Union public organization, following the month-long arrest of Samvel Karapetyan.

Furthermore, according to him, Pashinyan is thus attempting to fulfill another demand from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to amend the Armenian Constitution. "The detention of Samvel Karapetyan is yet another manifestation of Pashinyan's authoritarian aspirations aimed at fulfilling Aliyev's demands and preserving his own power. The solution is to unite opposition forces and create an effective system of struggle. "All political prisoners must be immediately released, and Aliyev's plans must be thwarted," Beglaryan wrote.

As a reminder, on November 4, Strong Armenia party spokesperson Aghavni Sukiasyan reported that investigators from the Investigative Committee of Armenia had been conducting searches since early morning at the homes of Strong Armenia bloc leader Samvel Karapetyan and Strong Armenia parliamentary faction leader Narek Karapetyan. She noted that searches were also being conducted at other addresses associated with Karapetyan's family. Later, Investigative Committee spokesperson Kima Avdalyan reported that searches were being conducted simultaneously at 65 addresses. Following the searches, NSS officers detained Samvel Karapetyan and escorted him out the back door of his home. The Investigative Committee of Armenia subsequently announced that Samvel Karapetyan is accused of embezzling loan funds received for the needs of Electric Networks of Armenia CJSC. (ESA). Thirty-five other people were detained along with him. On November 5, a court ruling replaced Samvel Karapetyan's house arrest with a one-month detention.

Notably, the arrest followed Pashinyan's statement that if the parliamentary opposition resisted the adoption of the new Constitution, the ruling majority would begin to generate public pressure. He also noted that "the authorities could formulate a proposal for the parliamentary opposition regarding the new Constitution that they would be unable to refuse."