February 19 marks the 8th anniversary of the killing of Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan.

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 NATO-sponsored Partnership for Peace program.

On April 13, 2006, Budapest District Court sentenced Safarov to life in prison for murdering Margaryan. On February 22, 2007, Budapest Court rejected the Azerbaijani military officer's appeal against the verdict, precluding possibility of pardon for the initial 30 years.

By a decree of then-President of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, officer Margaryan was awarded with a posthumous Medal for Courage on February 19, 2005.

Armenian Genocide Museum director Hayk Demoyan stressed the contribution of the judge Andrea Vascutti to the fair trial in the case, with premeditated nature of the murder proved.

“The sentence of Ramil Safarov is a sentence to the whole political leadership of Azerbaijan,” Demoyan said.