Fourteen people were detained following searches in Stepanavan. Those detained include Strong Armenia’s candidate for mayor, Arsen Gevorgyan, said Arega Hovsepyan, an MP from the party’s parliamentary faction. The searches took place at the homes and offices of party supporters, the newspaper Haykakan Zhamanak reported.
Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee said the searches and other procedural measures were being carried out as part of criminal proceedings. The agency did not specify the grounds for the detentions or what charges those detained might face.
Andranik Gevorgyan, an MP from the opposition faction, had earlier reported the searches, calling them violations of the law. Party MP Arega Hovsepyan described the events as “large-scale political persecution.” She said the authorities’ conduct was “yet another manifestation of their fear.”
Businessman Samvel Karapetyan founded Strong Armenia in December 2025. He heads the Tashir group of companies.
Local elections in Stepanavan are scheduled for October 25.
In the summer of 2025, Samvel Karapetyan publicly clashed with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan over the authorities’ actions against the Armenian Apostolic Church. Shortly afterward, Karapetyan was arrested on charges of publicly calling for the seizure of power. The investigation has been ongoing since the summer of 2025.
Karapetyan spent several months in a Yerevan pretrial detention facility before being placed under house arrest. He founded Strong Armenia while under house arrest.