On February 19, 2004, during NATO’s “Partnership for Peace” educational program in Budapest, Azerbaijani serviceman Ramil Safarov brutally murdered Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan. This premeditated crime not only contradicts the fundamental principles of international law but also serves as a blatant act of hatred towards Armenians.
The Hungarian court confirmed that the murder was premeditated and carried out with extreme brutality. Safarov deliberately attacked the sleeping Armenian officer with an axe, striking him multiple times, and then attempted to kill another Armenian officer, Hayk Makuchyan. According to the trial’s conclusion, the crime was committed on the grounds of ethnic hatred: it was an expression of fascism and Armenophobia and was not motivated by personal conflict or any other circumstances.
Safarov was found guilty of murder with extreme brutality and was sentenced by the Hungarian court to life imprisonment, without the possibility of parole for the first 30 years. However, in defiance of international legal norms, he was extradited to Azerbaijan in 2012, where, instead of serving his sentence, he was immediately pardoned by Ilham Aliyev. Upon his return, he was promoted in military rank, rewarded, and celebrated as a national hero.
The Geghard Foundation condemns the act of granting parole to Safarov. Glorifying him and presenting him as a role model is not only a manifestation of state-sponsored ethnic hatred but also a reflection of state policy.
Read also
The Geghard Foundation calls on the international community, organizations, and human rights institutions
- to give an explicit legal assessment of the actions of the Azerbaijani authorities, which violate the fundamental principles of justice and human rights.
- to pursue political and legal accountability for the Azerbaijani authorities for glorifying a criminal, including the possible imposition of sanctions against officials involved in this process.
- To make efforts to prevent the Azerbaijani authorities from acting with impunity.
Geghard Foundation