The court of first instance made the decision as it rejected prosecutors’ demand to again extend Karapetian’s pre-trial arrest on charges rejected by him as politically motivated.
The tycoon was already granted house arrest on December 30. Prosecutors appealed against that ruling. Court of Appeals accepted the demand on Friday as the 60-year-old tycoon received treatment in hospital for what his lawyers described as pneumonia caused by a coronavirus infection during his detention. He was transported back to a prison in downtown Yerevan a few hours later.
It was not immediately whether the prosecutors will now lodge another appeal. Karapetian’s first move to house arrest was conditional on a massive bail worth 4 billion drams ($10.5 million) and a ban on political statements. The lower court did not impose such a ban this time around, making him free to continue personally promoting his Mer Dzevov (In Our Way) movement which is expected to be a major election contender.
Karapetian was arrested in June hours after condemning Pashinian’s attempts to depose the top clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Church and vowing to defend it “in our way.” The statement provoked a series of furious social media posts by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. The latter pledged to “deactivate” the tycoon believed to be the world’s richest Armenian.
Law-enforcement authorities claim that Karapetian called for a violent overthrow of the government. They also charged him with tax evasion, fraud and money laundering in July after he decided to challenge Pashinian’s Civil Contract party in the elections due in June 2026.