Court Lifts Gag Order on Samvel Karapetyan After Marathon Hearing

After one of the longest and most dramatic court sessions in recent memory, Samvel Karapetyan has scored a significant legal and symbolic victory: the court has lifted restrictions on his public speaking.

The decision came at the end of a grueling 14-hour hearing in Yerevan, with just a single 30-minute break, during which the Anti-Corruption Court considered whether to tighten the preventive measure against the Tashir Group owner. In the end, the court refused to return Karapetyan to pretrial detention and left him under house arrest, rejecting the prosecution’s push for a harsher approach.

“This was an absurdly intense example of political persecution,” Karapetyan’s lawyer Aram Vardevanyan said after the hearing.

According to him, the court ruled that detention “cannot be maintained,” and while house arrest remains in place, one key restriction was removed: Karapetyan is now free to speak publicly again.

The legal saga around Karapetyan has been anything but straightforward. On the afternoon of January 16, a representative of the Anti-Corruption Court announced that an appellate decision had overturned the trial judge’s move to house arrest and returned Karapetyan to custody for two months. That announcement sparked confusion and alarm among the defense team.

As it turned out, the situation was more complex. Lawyers explained that the appellate court had merely suspended the earlier decision temporarily, pending a fresh review. A second hearing was scheduled the same day at 4:00 PM, this time before a different judge. That hearing stretched late into the night and ultimately ended in Karapetyan’s favor.

Vardevanyan said that Judge Dolmazyan, who presided over the second session, took into account both the legal arguments and Karapetyan’s medical condition. At one point, while Karapetyan was receiving inpatient treatment and an IV drip, more than 10 police officers reportedly entered the medical center with instructions to take him immediately to a penal institution. Witnessing the scene, Karapetyan reportedly reacted calmly and decisively:

“Let’s go!”

In the end, however, the court sided with the defense. Karapetyan remains under house arrest with bail and a travel ban, but the most controversial limitation – his ban on public statements – has been lifted.

This development comes against the backdrop of a broader political and legal confrontation. Karapetyan has been charged with calls to overthrow the constitutional order and economic crimes. His supporters point out that his problems with the authorities escalated after he publicly defended the Armenian Apostolic Church following harsh criticism from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, as well as amid parliamentary moves to nationalize Electric Networks of Armenia, a company linked to him.

Searches of Tashir Group offices, arrests of company executives, and repeated attempts to toughen Karapetyan’s preventive measures have fueled claims of politically motivated pressure. The defense continues to insist on his full release.

For now, the court’s decision marks a clear turning point. After months of legal uncertainty and rapidly changing court rulings, Samvel Karapetyan has regained his voice – literally. And in Armenia’s charged political climate, that may prove to be just as important as the question of where he spends the night.