Footage attributed to Archbishop Arshak has nothing to do with him -  lawyer 

ArmInfo. The results of an examination conducted by the Investigative Committee of Armenia have confirmed that the video recording attributed to Archbishop Arshak  Khachatryan, head of the chancery of the Mother See of Etchmiadzin,  has no connection to him. This was reported on his Facebook page by  Archbishop Arshak's lawyer, Arsen Babayan.

The defense attorney reported that he received by email from the  Investigative Committee of Armenia the conclusion of a forensic audio  and portrait examination commissioned for the video recording  attributed to Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan. He also stated that in  more than 15 years of public service and three years of experience as  a lawyer, he has never encountered such an absurdity.

According to him, this "conclusion" consists of only one page, more  than half of which is taken up by a photograph. In other words, the  entire conclusion takes up exactly half a page. Babayan added that  this isn't all. He said this "conclusion" completely refutes the  information released to the media by the investigative body that "the  presence of Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan in the video recording has  been confirmed."

"This information is untrue. Look at the expert's conclusion after  comparing the man depicted in the video with a photograph of  Archbishop Arshak taken from the internet as a reference."

Given the shape of the forehead, nose, and chin of the people in the  pictures, as well as their hairstyles and the fact that both are  wearing glasses, one can conclude that the photographs depict the  same person. So what does this mean? The expert looked at the  photographs and said, "Hey, yeah, they look alike." Okay, but when  did we say the man in the fake video looks nothing like Archbishop  Arshak? When did we say the man in the fake video has lush, curly  hair and a graceful, surgically-treated nose? Isn't it obvious that  if you show this video and the photograph of Archbishop Arshak to  anyone, they'll say, "Hey, yeah, they look alike." Is that your  expertise?

And most importantly: although the title of the examination creates  the impression that the authenticity of the video recording should  have been verified, this was not done. In other words, the  investigation wasn't interested in whether the video was real or, for  example, created by artificial intelligence. Or could the photograph  have been edited?

Based on all this, it can be unequivocally stated that the  Investigative Committee has confirmed Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan's  statement that the content of the video has nothing to do with him,"  Babayan wrote.

Previously, a video allegedly depicting Archbishop Arshak with a  woman was circulated on pro-government platforms. The video quality  is very poor, and only basic facial features are visible. The source  of the video is still unknown. The clergyman himself has repeatedly  emphasized that he has no connection to the video.