Government Seeks to Discredit Samvel Karapetyan, Says Amsterdam

During a press conference today, international human rights defender Robert Amsterdam stated that the new charges of "money laundering" against businessman Samvel Karapetyan have no basis. "This is typically used by autocratic regimes to imprison their political opponents. There was no such accusation before June 17, and suddenly, Armenia's largest entrepreneur, the head of the Business Union, is facing such charges," Amsterdam said.

According to Amsterdam, he has worked in various countries around the world and is currently representing opposition interests in Tanzania. He believes that even Tanzanians would be embarrassed by Karapetyan's case. Amsterdam argues that the government intends to discredit the popular Samvel Karapetyan because they fear the upcoming elections.

He also mentioned that he hasn’t even reviewed the charges but is confident that they are baseless. He asserts that it is sufficient to look at the timing of the accusation to understand everything. Amsterdam stated that Samvel Karapetyan has been in business for decades, earning millions of dollars, and suddenly he is being accused of "money laundering" for being "revolutionary." According to Amsterdam, the motive is clear: they simply want to get rid of him.