The arrest of Samvel Karapetyan
Armenian opposition groups announced a nationwide alliance to oppose the ruling Civil Contract party’s plan to amend the constitution. This announcement arrived hours after authorities arrested Samvel Karapetyan, the leader of the Strong Armenia party and a Russian-Armenian billionaire, alongside 35 of his associates. The investigation involves allegations that Karapetyan directed individuals to commit embezzlement, money laundering, and abuse of official authority between 2016 and 2024, causing over 65 billion ($180 million) in damages at the Electric Networks of Armenia. This power grid operator belongs to the Tashir Group but currently sits under state management pending nationalisation. The investigation also targets several members of the board of directors, the company’s CEO, the deputy CEO, and other senior officials. The arrests followed searches on Wednesday at Karapetyan’s mansion, the home of his nephew, Narek Karapetyan, who leads the Strong Armenia faction in parliament, among 60 other locations. Narek Karapetyan rejected the claims and said his uncle could not commit abuses against his own company. He also stated that authorities are using the arrest as a "bargaining chip" to win support for a new constitution. Karapetyan previously faced house arrest in December 2025 after he received bail following six months in pretrial detention on charges of calling for the usurpation of power and money laundering. I view the formation of this "pan-national consolidation" at Karapetyan’s mansion as the most direct challenge to Pashinyan’s authority since the June parliamentary elections.
Opposition goals and government reaction
The new alliance, which calls for all political parties, public figures, and civil society figures to join, outlines three specific goals: achieving peace without unilateral concessions or territorial losses, protecting national identity and the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, and restoring democratic freedoms and rights. These groups label the proposed constitutional amendments "Aliyev’s constitution" because Azerbaijan claims the document contains territorial claims against them. This dispute remains a hurdle for the peace treaty that the two countries initialled in August 2025. Since the Civil Contract party lacks the two-thirds majority required for a referendum, Pashinyan suggested he might call snap elections to secure the necessary seats. During a Thursday press briefing, Pashinyan remarked that the absence of Catholicos Karekin II meant the meeting did not "complete the picture". He claimed that if the Catholicos had been present, a revolution and change of government could have happened by Sunday evening. This tension follows a conflict between the government and the Church that began in May 2025, involving the Tavush for the Motherland anti-government movement led by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan. Pashinyan also dismissed accusations regarding the source of Karapetyan’s wealth, saying that for 30 years, "looting" in Armenia had been hidden behind terms like "Azerbaijan, Aliyev, Turkey, and so on". All of Pashinyan’s main political rivals, including former President Robert Kocharyan and Prosperous Armenia leader Gagik Tsarukyan, are currently in pretrial detention.
