An expert from the Investigative Committee did not confirm that the person shown in the controversial video is Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan, lawyer Arsen Babayan said at a press conference.

Earlier, Babayan had stated that three independent expert opinions obtained from Russia, Serbia, and Montenegro confirmed Archbishop Arshak’s position that he has no connection to the content of the circulated footage.

“The Investigative Committee’s expert said it was probably Archbishop Arshak, but the Investigative Committee always removes that ‘probably.’ They took a photo from the internet and said the nose looks similar, the hair near the ears looks similar, the forehead is similar, the hairstyle is the same, both wear glasses, and one can conclude it is the same person. One can conclude that — but one can also refrain from concluding,” Babayan said, according to Sputnik Armenia.

The lawyer stressed that the key question remains unanswered: whether the video corresponds to reality or not.

“Moreover, before appointing this examination, we were not even informed of the decision. The Criminal Procedure Code provides that Archbishop Arshak, as an interested party in the proceedings, should have been familiarized with the decision in order to have the opportunity to pose questions. Naturally, the first question would have been whether what is depicted in the video existed in objective reality or not,” he added.

Without disclosing the expert’s identity, Babayan emphasized that the submitted conclusion does not clarify who the expert is, what educational background and professional experience he has, or where he has worked.

“I have the impression that they told just anyone to come and sign,” the lawyer said.

Babayan also noted that expert opinions are still expected from other countries, but the three already received have provided sufficient grounds to speak publicly about the matter, Aysor.am reported.

According to him, when he announced that results from three countries were already available, he was surprised by the Investigative Committee’s response, which stated that examinations conducted outside criminal procedural frameworks have no evidentiary value.

“They even went so far as to declare that their own examination confirmed that the person in the video is Archbishop Arshak. It is surprising that the Investigative Committee does not know that a lawyer can commission an expert examination. The question arises: what does the Criminal Procedure Code and the ongoing proceedings have to do with an examination commissioned by us? It has no connection whatsoever.

Under no circumstances do we have the desire or need to prove anything within the framework of criminal proceedings in this case. We did not conduct these examinations to present them as evidence in any criminal case. Within the ongoing proceedings, although Archbishop Arshak formally has the status of a witness, in reality he has the status of a victim,” Babayan said.

The lawyer also addressed why the archbishop appears as a witness rather than a victim.

“It was proposed that the archbishop assume the status of a victim under the article currently being applied in the criminal proceedings, namely the violation of privacy of personal and family life. On the very first day, Archbishop Arshak stated that he has no connection to the realities depicted in that video; therefore, he could not have been a victim of a violation of his personal or family privacy. If it is not him, then no one violated his personal privacy. However, it was also stated that certain individuals, by disseminating these fake videos, attempted to incite hatred toward Archbishop Arshak, and therefore the investigation should proceed in that direction — to identify those who created and later distributed the falsified content,” Babayan said.

A newly created Telegram channel called “Armenian Wikileaks” published an intimate video on October 25, 2025, attributing it to Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan. The cleric responded by saying that even by overstretching his efforts he could not engage in refuting fabrications and slander and considered it reasonable to ignore them.

Archbishop Arshak was detained on December 4, 2025, after leaving the building of Armenia’s Investigative Committee. He was later informed that he had been charged with illegal drug trafficking committed by a group by prior agreement. On December 5, he was placed under arrest. On February 3, 2026, a court extended his detention for another two months.