Samvel Karapetyan’s lawyers withdraw appeal

Lawyer Armen Feroyan has released a statement regarding businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan:

“The clearly unlawful detention order against Samvel Karapetyan, based on a fabricated criminal case, was appealed by me to the Court of Appeal on June 19, 2025. Then, at an unprecedented pace—presumably due to illegal interference—the case materials were transferred to the Court of Appeal and assigned to Judge Armen Danielyan.

Given that this judge has, for decades, held the lowest credibility ratings and has been most frequently challenged for bias, and considering the public’s lack of trust in his sense of justice, my client and I have decided, in accordance with the law, to withdraw the appeal. I would like to inform you that the withdrawal request has already been submitted to the Court of Appeal and is subject to immediate review.

I also note that when appealing to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), only effective domestic remedies are required to be exhausted. In this case, such remedies are entirely lacking. The legal team has nearly completed the necessary preparations to file an urgent complaint with the ECHR. Further updates will be provided.”