Aztag editor: Azeri assassin’s release not surprising

Aztag editor: Azeri assassin’s release not surprising

PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijani President’s decision to pardon murderer Ramil Safarov was not a surprise, according to editor-in-chief of Aztag Beirut-based daily.

“Azerbaijan long ago cultivated Safarov’s crime as a feat. The problem lies in the Hungarian authorities, who appeared under Baku’s girdle,” Shahan Kandaharian told PanARMENIAN.Net adding that Armenians across the globe should combine efforts against the immoral and unlawful act of the Hungarian government.

Kandaharian rated Armenia’s decision to suspend relations with Hungary as a right step. “I am confident that Diaspora will raise this issue in all countries,” he said.

Safarov, who was sentenced to life by a Hungarian court for the murder of Armenian office Gurgen Margaryan in February 2004, was extradited to Azerbaijan on Aug 31 and immediately pardoned by the country’s President Ilham Aliyev.

In response, Armenia suspended diplomatic relations with Hungary.

Gurgen Margaryan

On February 19, 2004, Lieutenant of the Armenian Armed Forces Gurgen Margaryan, 26, was hacked to death, while asleep, by a fellow Azerbaijani participant, lieutenant Ramil Safarov, in Budapest during a three-month English language course in the framework of Partnership for Peace NATO-sponsored program. In accordance with Budapest District Court sentence dated April 13, 2006, Ramil Safarov was life imprisoned for murdering the Armenian officer.

On February 22, 2007, Budapest Court rejected the Azerbaijani military officer's appeal against a life sentence. The appeal court ruled that the decision brought by Budapest District Court against 30-year-old Lieutenant Ramil Safarov, should stand.

On August 31, 2012, Hungary extradited Safarov back to Azerbaijan, where he was promptly pardoned by President Ilham Aliyev.

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