Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan’s lawyer comments on photocopies of letter circulated in media

Arsen Babayan, lawyer of Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan, commented on photocopies of a letter circulated today in the media and attributed to bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

“Today, the media circulated a photocopy of a letter attributed to the bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church. I do not know whether this letter is genuine or not. Since it concerns exclusively the internal relations of the clergy and the internal processes of the Church—an area beyond my competence—I cannot and do not wish to express any opinion on this matter.

However, the letter contains a remark directly related to my responsibilities, which I consider necessary to address. During the interrogation of Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan in connection with this case, neither he nor I was presented with a decree appointing an expert examination, nor with an expert conclusion. This gives grounds to believe that no such examination was appointed or conducted. This statement is based on the procedure for appointing and conducting expert examinations established by the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia.

Moreover, it is obvious that even if such an expert conclusion did exist, it could not have been provided to anyone else, including the aforementioned bishops, due to the confidentiality requirements of the preliminary investigation. Considering the public resonance of the issue, I believe the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia is obliged to provide clear and comprehensive clarifications on this matter,” he said.