Arrests of Opposition Figures Are Another Bargaining Chip in Political Deals: Tigran Kocharyan Samvel Karapetyan’s detention fits into the authorities’ broader strategy of neutralizing the opposition. Following the arrests of the leaders of two key political forces, taking Karapetyan into custody was only a matter of time, Alpha News Editor-in-Chief Tigran Kocharyan said while analyzing the country’s current domestic political crisis.