Investigative Committee: Samvel Karapetyan granted permission to  publish a video message on Facebook

ArmInfo. Today's statement by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan that Samvel Karapetyan has been granted permission to publish a video message on social media is yet another attempt to  manipulate and mislead the public, as stated by lawyer Aram Vardevanyan  during a live Facebook broadcast. 

According to him, throughout this entire period, more lies were  spread, and Samvel Karapetyan was not allowed to record a video  message. Specifically, on March 13, 2026, when the investigation  began examining Karapetyan's house arrest petition, the defense  requested for permission to make a video message. "Furthermore,  during the court hearing, it was suggested to pause for a minute and  report on what was happening via a Facebook live broadcast.  Permission was not received from either the court or the  investigation," he said.

Karapetyan's defense received the court's ruling on March 17, which  was then appealed to a higher court.  "This ruling explicitly stated  that the decision to publish the video message was not within the  Probation Service's jurisdiction, but was for the investigator to  decide. Thus, the court confirmed that at this stage, the appropriate  permission was not available," Vardevanyan clarified.  On March 18,  the defense appealed to the Investigative Committee for permission to  publish Samvel Karapetyan's statements. "And when today the head of  the executive branch once again confirmed the absence of such a  restriction, it was yet another manipulation and attempt to mislead  the public, since today, just a few hours later, the Investigative  Committee granted our petition," the lawyer noted, adding that he  still hadn't received the investigative body's decision.

Recall, at a government briefing today, Pashinyan stated that the  Probation Service believes Karapetyan can speak live on air.  Pashinyan suggested Karapetyan state his position live on air, and  "we'll understand their strengths and our weaknesses." He also  challenged his virtual opponent to "do 30 pull-ups live on air." "I  can't, but I can ride a bike 100 km. What else are we strong at?  Intellect? Let them show it live. I'm sure both oligarchs (presumably  referring to Samvel and his nephew, Narek Karapetyan) are weak in  both analysis and vocabulary. This is easy to prove. They're strong  with their money, but they have earned it through their corrupt  fathers, and they're weak in business. And they're afraid of ending  up in a position they deserve. Most of their money isn't theirs at  all, but that of foreign corrupt systems, and they're just weak  managers," Pashinyan stated.

Following this, the Investigative Committee of Armenia issued a  statement stating that, given that the decision on whether to allow  Samvel Karapetyan to address the citizens of the Republic of Armenia  with a video message as part of the election campaign and the format  of such message falls within the competence of the public participant  in the criminal proceedings-in this case, the investigative body-the  body conducting the proceedings decided to grant the petition,  allowing Samvel Karapetyan, to publish a video message on Facebook in  the context of presenting the political activities, programs, and  approaches of the "Strong Armenia" party.

Pashinyan did not limit himself to comments at the briefing and also  published a short video afterwards.  "You say you're strong. How are  you strong?" Pashinyan asked his opponents. He challenged them to go  live and do 30 push-ups, and then he would admit they were strong.  "Or another option: let's say, go on air and name the capital of  Spain without any prompting, and then I will admit that you are  super-intellectuals, strong intellectuals," the Armenian Prime  Minister noted.