Armenian investigators have questioned three independent experts hired by the defense team of jailed billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, whose lawyers say the experts undermined coup-related charges filed against him ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections.
Karapetyan’s attorneys said on Friday that officers of the Investigative Committee searched the home of one of the experts, linguist Vano Yeghiazaryan, on Thursday. They said investigators accused Yeghiazaryan of “predetermining” expert conclusions provided by a psychologist and a body-language specialist. The lawyers said Yeghiazaryan’s mobile phone was confiscated during the search.
Yeghiazaryan could not be reached for comment.
The Investigative Committee did not deny the reported search and interrogations but declined to comment, citing “necessary investigative actions.” Karapetyan’s legal team described the steps as further evidence that the case is politically motivated and lacks substance.
Karapetyan was arrested on June 18, hours after he publicly condemned Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s efforts to remove senior clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Church and pledged to defend the church “in our way.” Law-enforcement authorities say the statement amounted to a call for the violent overthrow of the government.
According to the defense, all three experts previously rejected the investigators’ interpretation of the remarks. One of Karapetyan’s lawyers, Arshak Vartanyan, said the interrogations and the apartment search were intended to deter other experts or potential witnesses from offering testimony that could weaken the prosecution’s case.
In July, investigators added charges of tax evasion, fraud, and money laundering after Karapetyan announced plans to form a new opposition force for the parliamentary elections scheduled for June 2026. His supporters say the government aims to keep him jailed through the vote. Pashinyan pledged to “deactivate” the 60-year-old businessman hours before his arrest.
Karapetyan’s “Mer Dzevov” (In Our Way) movement was formally launched in late August and says it has recruited 12,000 members. Political observers have described it as a potential major contender in the 2026 race.
Karapetyan’s lawyers also questioned the scale and pace of the investigation. They said as many as 53 Investigative Committee officers are assigned to the case, but only 15 or 16 people have been questioned so far. Another defense lawyer, Ruben Hakobyan, claimed investigators told them they avoided questioning certain individuals because they feared those witnesses could testify in Karapetyan’s favor.
