MPs have accused Samvel Karapetyan of having links to Russian security services and “robbing” the nation
Jailed Russian-Armenian businessman Samvel Karapetyan has filed lawsuits against two Armenian lawmakers, accusing them of besmirching his image and falsely claiming that he is linked with Russia’s security services. Karapetyan, a vocal supporter of the Armenian opposition, was arrested last month in Yerevan on charges of calling for a coup, which the tycoon denies.
According to filings submitted to the Yerevan Civil Court earlier this week, Karapetyan’s legal team is demanding that MPs Arsen Torosyan and Hayk Konjoryan publicly retract statements made in parliament last month. The lawsuits also seek compensation of 9 million drams ($23,400) from each in damages for insult and defamation, plus court costs.
In the first case, Karapetyan insists that Torosyan must publicly deny what he calls false claims that he was “instructed by the FSB [Russia’s Federal Security Service] to make statements aimed at using violence against the legitimate government of Armenia and harming its leadership.”
In the second case, Karapetyan targets statements by Konjoryan, in which the MP labeled him part of an “oligarchic wing” tied to the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC). Karapetyan also demanded that Konjoryan apologize for statements in which he suggested that the businessman used his political clout to “rob the Armenian people” by purchasing state assets at below market rates.
Karapetyan was arrested in Yerevan last month after he expressed support for the AAC, which has been the main driver behind the protests against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his government. Karapetyan faces charges of calling for the overthrow of the government and has been placed in pretrial detention.
The protests were sparked by Pashinyan’s decision to hand over several border villages to Azerbaijan, with which Armenia has border disputes. Pashinyan portrayed the move as a path to normalize ties with its neighbor, though many Armenians view it as a betrayal of national interests. As the stand-off between the government and the church escalated, law enforcement arrested several prominent clerics on coup charges.
Russia has stressed that the protests in Armenia are an internal affair in which it has no intention of becoming involved. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said, however, that Moscow is interested in Armenia being “a prosperous and stable country that is friendly to Russia.”
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