Supporters of Samvel Karapetyan Protest in Yerevan

This past weekend, participants in a rally in Yerevan organised by the “Our Way” movement demanded the release of businessman Samvel Karapetyan and the clergy, Orda.kz reports, citing The Caucasian Knot

The Yerevan Anti-Corruption Court extended Karapetyan’s pre-trial detention for a month. Supporters of the businessman announced the rally for October 18. 

Background

Tashir Group owner Samvel Karapetyan has been charged with calling for the overthrow of the constitutional order. Before his arrest, Karapetyan expressed support for the Armenian Apostolic Church after Nikol Pashinyan harshly criticised the church at a government meeting on May 29 and responded to Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan’s objections with insults on Facebook.

Armenian politicians and church representatives demanded that Pashinyan apologise for insulting the church.

Prominent clergy have also been targeted.

The court sentenced Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, head of the Shirak Diocese, to two years in prison, while cases continue against Bishop Bagrat Galstanyan, Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, and Priest Garegin Arsenyan, who face charges of coercion to participate in public gatherings. The defense plans to appeal the verdict against Ajapayan.

At least six to thirteen clergymen, including Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan of the Aragatsotn Diocese, were arrested in mid-October 2025 as part of the widening investigation into members of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Protest

On the weekend (Saturday, October 18), a large rally in support of Karapetyan took place. Several people gathered in Yerevan’s Freedom Square and marched towards the National Security Service of Armenia building, where Karapetyan and certain clergy members are being held.

They carried posters and flags with the slogan “Mer Dzevov” (“Our Way”), and were led by his nephew, Narek Karapetyan, coordinator of the “Mer Dzevov” movement and first vice-president of Tashir Group. 

Family and associates of the arrested businessman are among the front rows of protestors. They are demanding the release of Karapetyan and the clergy, chanting messages such as: “We will fight our way.”

Before the march began, activists gathered in Freedom Square and said that they were ready to participate in elections, to remove the ruling party, and to defend their church.

Security forces deployed around the NSS building reportedly blocked long stretches of nearby streets. The rally followed a new wave of arrests of senior clergy earlier in the week, deepening the confrontation between the government and the Armenian Apostolic Church.”