"Strong Armenia": The united opposition will not back down in the face of Pashinyan’s pressure

ArmInfo.  The united opposition will not retreat in the face of pressure from Armenia’s incumbent Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and will not allow the country to be led toward concessions. This is stated in a statement by the “Strong Armenia” party against the backdrop of the arrest of its leader Samvel Karapetyan.

The political force expressed the conviction that today’s decision to re-arrest Samvel Karapetyan once again proves that Armenia’s state structures are carrying out Pashinyan’s orders. Karapetyan’s party recalled that just a few days ago Pashinyan publicly threatened opposition leaders who oppose the “Aliyev constitution,” and today Samvel Karapetyan is being arrested again.

"Aliyev is weakening Armenia from the outside, while Pashinyan is weakening it from within. By re-arresting Samvel Karapetyan, Pashinyan is trying to force the adoption of the "Aliyev constitution" through anti-democratic methods. He did the same thing in 2025 and failed.  At that time, Pashinyan arrested Samvel Karapetyan for defending the Armenian Apostolic Church. However, Pashinyan failed to disband and destroy the Church. Now Pashinyan will fail again. He will not be able to impose the "Aliyev constitution" because the Armenian people oppose it, and the united opposition will not yield to Pashinyan’s pressure and will not allow him to lead the country toward concessions," the political force stated.

The party recalled that in 2025, even while under arrest, Samvel Karapetyan united the people around the defense of Armenia’s national identity and independence.  "He will continue this struggle today as well, despite the obstacles that will stand in his way. Together we will say "NO" to the "Aliyev constitution" and "YES" to preserving Armenia’s independence," the party concluded.

It should be recalled that on November 4, “Strong Armenia” party press secretary Aghavni Sukiasyan reported that since early morning, investigators from Armenia’s Investigative Committee had been conducting searches at the homes of Samvel Karapetyan, leader of the “Strong Armenia” bloc, and Narek Karapetyan, head of the “Strong Armenia” parliamentary faction. She noted that searches were also being conducted at other addresses connected with the Karapetyan family. Later, Kima Avdalyan, press secretary of Armenia’s Investigative Committee, reported that searches were being conducted simultaneously at 65 addresses. After the searches, National Security Service officers detained Samvel Karapetyan and led him out through the back entrance of his home. The Investigative Committee of Armenia subsequently reported that Samvel Karapetyan was accused of embezzling loan funds raised for the needs of CJSC “Electric Networks of Armenia” (ENA). Another 35 people were detained along with him. On November 5, the court ordered Samvel Karapetyan’s arrest.  We should add that Pashinyan had previously stated that if the parliamentary opposition opposed the adoption of a new Constitution, the ruling majority would begin exerting public pressure. In addition, he noted that "the authorities could formulate such a proposal on the new Constitution for the parliamentary opposition that it would not be able to refuse".