SCOOP: Political Prosecution of Karapetyan creates cloud over Armenian PM’s visit to D.C.
President Donald Trump secured a historic peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan, two former members of the Soviet Union, a White House official confirmed to the Washington Reporter.
The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, and President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliye, are scheduled to meet with President Trump at the White House on Friday to sign this historic deal.
However, a scandal of potential political persecution happening 5,800 miles away in Armenia has made its way to Washington D.C., raising concerns in both Congress and throughout the Trump administration.
Protestors gathered outside the hotel where the Prime Minister of Armenia is staying, and sources tell the Reporter they will protest outside the White House on Friday.
Back in June 2025, Pashinyan ramped up his criticism of the Armenian Apostolic Church, which is part of the historic identity of the Armenian people.
In social media posts, Pashinyan attacked the church and clergy and suggested creating a “coordinating council” that would organize a new election of Catholics and appealed to the public to support him and take steps “to free the Catholicosate and hold new elections.” Article 17 of the Armenian Constitution also guarantees that any religious organization is “separate from the State.” One religious liberty expert told the Reporter that “this is a clear violation of Armenian law — the Prime Minister is attacking the church from his position of power, it is chilling.”
Samvel Karapetyan arrived in Armenia with his family on June 14th with the sole purpose to attend a church ceremony held in memory of his recently passed father. The Armenian tradition is to gather 40 days after an individual's death. Three days later, immediately following the church ceremony, Karapetyan was approached by a journalist and gave an interview in which he, as a longtime supporter of the Armenian Apostolic Church, expressed his disappointment about the rising tensions between the government and the church.
He declared his support for the church and his readiness to act to support it. In particular, he made the following comment: “If politicians fail, we will participate in all of this in our own way.”
People close to Karapetyan told the Reporter that he had valid concerns about the conflict and was distancing himself from politics. Immediately after that interview, the Prime Minister went on Facebook posting threats against Karapetyan. He wrote the following: “This is not the village of Nizhny Tapir in Kaluga for you. This is the Republic of Armenia. I hope the taste of the state will remain in your mouth.” Allies of Karapetyan took this as a direct threat to him personally and to his business ventures.
Following the Prime Minister’s posts, on the same day, law enforcement officers carried out a raid on Karapetyan’s residence in Yerevan. Since then, a judge ruled it was an illegal raid. Karapetyan was then arrested and charged with making public calls to seize power in the country illegally. Earlier in July he was denied bail. During the raid, the Prime Minister made another post on Facebook, stating as follows: “Well, intervene, man! Why are you chickening out and hiding?”
A source close to the Trump administration told the Reporter that “clearly the Prime Minister is using Biden-like tactics against Karapetyan. He was raided and prosecuted for simply speaking his mind and defending his religion. This is a cloud above his head as he goes to Washington.”
An attorney for Karapetyan, Joseph H. Tipograph told the Reporter that “the prosecution of Mr. Karapetyan is centered not on acts of violence or conspiracy but on speech: his public defense of the Armenian Apostolic Church on June 17, 2025, and his criticism of the government’s actions. Shortly thereafter, Prime Minister Pashinyan issued retaliatory social media posts, followed by a raid and arrest. Charges for incitement and financial crimes soon followed, despite the lack of factual evidence connecting him to any criminal act.”
Just hours after Karapetyan’s arrest, Pashinyan announced that the government would nationalize ENA, a company Karapetyan’s Tashir Group has owned and operated since 2015. Critics, including the family of Karapetyan have argued in a lawsuit that the Armenian government’s actions are “arbitrary, discriminatory, politically motivated and aimed at dispossessing the Karapetyan family of ENA.”
The person close to the Trump Administration told the Reporter that this “looks exactly like the Tish James playbook. Prosecute your opponent, just like they did with Trump. Then try to seize their assets and businesses. Looks Marxist to anyone with a brain.”
Karapetyan’s attorney, Tipograph, told the Reporter that “the Armenian government is seeking for Karapetyan’s company ENA to be expropriated via rushed parliamentary action. His prosecution follows a pattern of regulatory coercion and political retaliation. His denial of due process signals the collapsing of Armenia’s democratic standing and judicial independence.”
The concerns have also reached Congress, with a senior Senate aide telling the Reporter that “Armenia relies on the U.S. in many ways. And when Armenia acts more like the Soviet Union than a free country, more than one Senator is thinking that we need to reevaluate the U.S.-Armenian relationship.”