Thousands march in Yerevan to free jailed Russian-Armenian businessman (VIDEOS)

People in Armenia are demanding the government release a prominent energy tycoon and philanthropist

Thousands of people took to the streets of Yerevan on Friday to demand the release of jailed Russian-Armenian businessman Samvel Karapetyan. The energy tycoon, a vocal supporter of the country’s political opposition and the embattled Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC), was arrested last month on charges of advocating for a coup, which he denies.

The rally and march were fully legal and authorized by the local authorities, according to the event’s organizers, the Council for the Defense of Samvel Karapetyan.

“Today we did an important job together. We proved to everyone that the Armenian people are the owners of their rights and future,” the organization wrote on Facebook on Friday, calling for Karapetyan to be released from what it described as “illegal detention.”

In videos published by Ruptly, thousands of Armenians could be seen marching through Yerevan, many wearing white baseball caps and T-shirts, and some waving Armenian flags.

Photos published by Armenia Today showed the building of the country’s domestic security service surrounded by police officers as the crowd of protesters drew closer.

In several clips, members of the AAC were seen marching and praying alongside the demonstrators.

Karapetyan was arrested in June after voicing support for the church in its standoff with the country’s authorities, led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

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The AAC has become a key force opposing the government’s decision to hand over several border villages to neighboring Azerbaijan. The villages had long been the focus of a bloody territorial dispute, and many Armenians viewed the handover as a betrayal of national interests.

Since then, Pashinyan’s government has arrested two prominent AAC clerics and moved to nationalize Karapetyan’s energy company.

The Kremlin has stated that Moscow would assist Karapetyan if necessary, noting that he is a Russian citizen. However, Russian officials emphasized that they consider the ongoing protests a domestic matter for Yerevan.