Even Somalia has not seen violations on this scale – Aram Vardevanyan on Karapetyan’s case

Aram Vardevanyan, a representative of the Defense Council of businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan, described the judicial investigation as political persecution.

“National philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan has been under clearly unlawful arrest for more than 100 days. In September 2025, several petitions and appeals were submitted to the head of the investigative group (including the chairman of the Investigative Committee), as well as to the head of the supervisory department of the Prosecutor’s Office (including the Prosecutor General). The main demand is simple: to ensure at least a minimal level of integrity and legality, to carry out investigative actions. I can state that the investigation, ongoing for more than 100 days, is no different from the situation on June 17, 2025. That is, we are witnessing political persecution, complete inaction, and unlawful detention based solely on ‘Facebook justice.’

I have repeatedly stated—and continue to assert—that even in Somalia, there has not been a case comparable to that of Samvel Karapetyan in terms of the scale of violations.

Therefore, this case is the simplest test of whether democratic values exist in Armenia not just in words, but in practice,” Vardevanyan wrote on Facebook.