Yerevan Mayor beats President's servant and resigns

Armen Arzumanyan, press secretary of the President of Armenia, has confirmed the fact of assault and battery of Mayor of Yerevan Gagik Beglaryan against Aram Kandayan, a staff member of the protocol department of President Serzh Sargsyan's administration. According to the latest information, the Mayor has resigned.

According to publications in the Armenian press, on December 3, the Mayor of Yerevan kidnapped and brutally beat Aram Kandayan, deputy head of President's protocol, after the incident because of seats at the concert of singer Placido Domingo. As to Mr Beglaryan himself, he gives no comment.

The fact of Beglaryan's resignation after the incident was reported by the "Gazeta.Ru" with reference to a source in the President's office.

The President's spokesman Armen Arzumanyan has confirmed that the incident really took place, although, in his words, "the press has exaggerated the event in their reports." He said that "there was no kidnapping and brutal beating" of Kandayan, the IA "News-Armenia" reports.

President of Armenia took the beating of the employee of his administration extremely negatively. According to the newspaper "Aikakan Zhamanak", Michael Minasyan, Deputy Head of the President's Administration and son-in-law of Armenian President, gave Beglaryan a hint that he had time till next Monday. During this time the Mayor was to either beg pardon from the beaten Kandayan and the whole protocol service or resign.

Aram Kandayan refused to communicate with journalists.