Security forces conducted a search of Narek Karapetyan's home.

This morning, security forces searched the home of Narek Karapetyan, a member of the Strong Armenia party who was elected to parliament. According to the politician, nothing was seized during the search. Investigators believe the search is related to the case of Karapetyan's fellow party member, Alik Aleksanyan, whose pre-trial detention was extended for two months today.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," the Central Election Commission of Armenia approved the prosecution of Strong Armenia MP Narek Karapetyan, but rejected the Prosecutor General's Office's request for his arrest. Karapetyan is being investigated for coercion to participate in a public meeting using violence and large-scale money laundering. He was given bail of $2.7 million and banned from leaving the country.

Karapetyan described the actions of security forces as political persecution.

On the morning of July 31, law enforcement officers began a search of the home of Narek Karapetyan, a member of the Strong Armenia political council, Armat Media reports.

The Investigative Committee reported that the investigative actions are being conducted as part of a criminal case opened against Aleksan Aleksanyan (Alik Aleksanyan). Aleksanyan is accused of providing material incentives for citizens to participate in pre-election meetings and money laundering on an especially large scale, Armenia Today reports.

Nothing was seized from Karapetyan during the search, he said.

"It was another search." “I don’t remember which one it was,” Narek Karapetyan said after the investigation.

He assessed the investigation as political persecution for opposition activities.

Alik Aleksanyan’s arrest extended

Today, the court extended the arrest of Strong Armenia member Alik Aleksanyan by two months, News.am reports.

According to Aleksanyan’s lawyer, Eduard Hovhannisyan, the decision to extend the arrest is unacceptable and will be appealed to the Court of Appeals in the near future, Armenia Today writes.

Lawyer Liana Gasparyan stated that during the court hearing, investigators were questioned for more than two hours, but, according to her, they were unable to clearly justify the need for further arrest.

“There is no clear answer to the question of at what point "On factual grounds, Alik Aleksanyan should be kept in custody for another two months," Gasparyan said.

She also stated that she considers Aleksanyan a political prisoner, who is being treated extremely harshly. At the same time, the lawyer expressed hope for a fair court decision.