The leader of the Bright Armenian Party, Edmon Marukyan, has sent a letter to the co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s Monitoring Committee on Armenia’s obligations, Boriana Aberg and Piero Fassino, as well as to the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, regarding the persecution of political prisoners Samvel Karapetyan and Archbishop Michael Ajapahyan.
Dear Colleagues,
Since I have also been involved in the PACE Monitoring Committee and we have jointly carried out effective activities in protecting and promoting the standards of the Council of Europe, I am addressing you as the leader of the Bright Armenia Party, a member force of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), a former colleague and human rights defender.
I am aware that you met with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, yesterday. Therefore, I would like to present the current situation in Armenia, since I am not sure that these issues were raised by him.
Since June 17, 2025, philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan has been illegally detained solely for giving an interview. His interview was aimed at defending the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, and for this reason he is currently being held in the basement of the State Security Committee of the former Armenian SSR (better known to the Armenian people as the “podval” [basement] of the KGB). All of Samvel Karapetyan’s lawyers’ appeals against the illegal detention have been rejected by higher courts, and petitions to replace his detention with any alternative form of detention have also been rejected. On August 15, Samvel Karapetyan’s detention was extended for another two months based on the same illegal charges.
Since June 28, Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan, the Primate of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, has also been in the same detention facility, again for giving an interview. I consider it necessary to emphasize that Archbishop Michael is the joint candidate for Prime Minister of the parliamentary opposition within the framework of the impeachment process of the Prime Minister and has the signatures of 36 MPs, the required threshold. All complaints of Archbishop Michael’s lawyers against illegal detention, as well as the petitions submitted during the trial, were also rejected.
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On September 29 of this year, the court found Ajapahyan guilty for giving an interview, which was attempted to be placed within the wording of Part 2 of Article 422 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. The public prosecutor petitioned the court to impose a sentence of 2 years and 6 months in prison. On October 3, the court should announce the measure of the sentence imposed on Archbishop Michael.
What is this? If not political persecution of free speech and a gross restriction on freedom of speech? What is this? If not a violation of the three fundamental values of the Council of Europe: human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
Dear colleagues,
I draw your attention to the situation in Armenia and urge you not to become European sponsors of anti-democratic processes in our country. The ongoing developments grossly violate the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and do not comply with the founding documents of the Council of Europe, the principles of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, as well as the international obligations assumed by the Republic of Armenia.
I ask you to demand from the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia to immediately stop these illegal criminal prosecutions and release the benefactor Samvel Karapetyan and the Primate of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan.
I hope that in addition to this letter, we will have the opportunity to meet in Strasbourg in the near future, where I will present in more detail the facts of these political prosecutions and other manifestations of the regression of the Republic of Armenia from the point of view of fundamental democratic standards.
