EXPEDITED TRIAL ON CRIMINAL CASE FILED AGAINST 4 POLICEMEN ENDS

Noyan Tapan
Jun 18 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 18, NOYAN TAPAN. On June 15 the trial of the criminal
case filed against 4 policemen charged with perjury and abuse of
official powers took place with expedited legal proceedings in the
Court of First Instance of the Kentron and Nork-Marash communities
in Yerevan.

Before the meeting of their petition to hold an expedited trial the
defendants, Marat Manukian, the section leader of the Protection
Division of the Guard Department to the Police Central Department,
policemen Aram Khachatrian, Hayrapet Giulamirian, and Vardan
Gabrielian, at the moment of committing the crime, completely confessed
to the claims concerning the abuse of their official powers and perjury
during their guard duty in the Alen-Elen nightclub. Diana Simonian,
the cashier of the club, also admitted to the charge of perjury.

According to the materials of the case, M. Manukian and A. Khachatrian,
who were on duty in the Alen-Elen nightclub in Yerevan on June
30, 2006 on the illegal orders of the club’s manager Vl. Bejanian,
forcedly took a customer of the club A. Babum, a citizen of the Islamic
Republic of Iran, to the police sentry post located in the club for
allegedly entering the club with a knife. Vl. Bejanian interrogated
and beat Babum, inflicting relatively serious injuries upon him, which
will not hea. Then the policemen gave false testimony, introducing a
report saying that A. Babum made a ruckus in the Alen-Elen nightclub
and tried to argue with other visitors to the club and, when the
policeman M. Manukian told him to clam down, A. Babum took a knife
out of his pocket and attacked him.

On July 5, 2006 H. Gyulamirian started an ungrounded argument with
club customer Tigran Galstian, then beat him with M. Manukian causing
minor injuries. Vardan Gabrielian, the next defendant in the case,
wrote a report saying that during his duty in the Alen-Elen nightclub
he tried to calm Tigran Galstian, who was allegedly arguing with the
club cashier, down, but the latter punched and headbutted him in the
face. The cashier also gave false testimony of the same content.

Court proceedings will begin on July 3.