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.

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