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Agence France Presse
Sept 1 2012
Armenians burn Hungary flags in protest at killer's return
(AFP)
YEREVAN - Hundreds of people protested outside the Hungarian consulate
in Yerevan on Saturday after Budapest sent a soldier who murdered an
Armenian back to his native Azerbaijan, where he was pardoned.
Several hundred angry demonstrators burned the Hungarian flag and
threw eggs, tomatoes and coins, accusing Budapest of doing a deal with
Baku in order to profit from Azerbaijan's energy riches.
"The Hungarians have sold their honour and conscience to the
Azerbaijanis like a common prostitute," protest organiser Armen
Mkrtchian told AFP.
Yerevan on Friday cut diplomatic ties with Hungary, which Armenian
President Serzh Sarkisian said had made a "grave mistake" in
extraditing the killer, who hacked his victim to death with an axe in
Budapest in 2004.
US President Barack Obama also said he was "deeply concerned" about the pardon.
Hungary however insisted that Azerbaijan had promised that the soldier
would serve out the remainder of his sentence after his return home
and would not be freed.
"Azerbaijan's justice ministry informed the (Hungarian) justice
ministry... that he would continue to serve the sentence given by the
Hungarian court," the government said on its website Saturday.
Azerbaijani lieutenant Ramil Safarov was jailed for life after hacking
Armenian officer Gurgen Margarian to death at a military academy in
Budapest where the servicemen were attending English-language courses
organised by NATO.
Safarov claimed that Margarian had insulted Azerbaijan, which fought
Armenia over the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh in the 1990s.
In another move that infuriated Armenia, Azerbaijan on Saturday
reinstated Safarov to the army and promoted him to the rank of major.
"Defence Minister Safar Abiyev received him, handed him his new rank
and wished him success in his future military service," a defence
ministry statement said.
Azerbaijan also hit back at US criticism, insisting that the pardon
awarded to Safarov after he had served eight years of his sentence
conformed with a European legal convention on extradition.
"Ramil Safarov was pardoned in accordance with the constitution and
laws of Azerbaijan and the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced
Persons," presidential administration official Fuad Alekserov said in
a statement.
Armenia-backed separatists seized Nagorny Karabakh from Azerbaijan in
the war that left some 30,000 people dead.
The two sides have not signed a final peace deal since the 1994
ceasefire and there are still regular firefights along the Karabakh
frontline.
Sept 1 2012
Armenians burn Hungary flags in protest at killer's return
(AFP)
YEREVAN - Hundreds of people protested outside the Hungarian consulate
in Yerevan on Saturday after Budapest sent a soldier who murdered an
Armenian back to his native Azerbaijan, where he was pardoned.
Several hundred angry demonstrators burned the Hungarian flag and
threw eggs, tomatoes and coins, accusing Budapest of doing a deal with
Baku in order to profit from Azerbaijan's energy riches.
"The Hungarians have sold their honour and conscience to the
Azerbaijanis like a common prostitute," protest organiser Armen
Mkrtchian told AFP.
Yerevan on Friday cut diplomatic ties with Hungary, which Armenian
President Serzh Sarkisian said had made a "grave mistake" in
extraditing the killer, who hacked his victim to death with an axe in
Budapest in 2004.
US President Barack Obama also said he was "deeply concerned" about the pardon.
Hungary however insisted that Azerbaijan had promised that the soldier
would serve out the remainder of his sentence after his return home
and would not be freed.
"Azerbaijan's justice ministry informed the (Hungarian) justice
ministry... that he would continue to serve the sentence given by the
Hungarian court," the government said on its website Saturday.
Azerbaijani lieutenant Ramil Safarov was jailed for life after hacking
Armenian officer Gurgen Margarian to death at a military academy in
Budapest where the servicemen were attending English-language courses
organised by NATO.
Safarov claimed that Margarian had insulted Azerbaijan, which fought
Armenia over the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh in the 1990s.
In another move that infuriated Armenia, Azerbaijan on Saturday
reinstated Safarov to the army and promoted him to the rank of major.
"Defence Minister Safar Abiyev received him, handed him his new rank
and wished him success in his future military service," a defence
ministry statement said.
Azerbaijan also hit back at US criticism, insisting that the pardon
awarded to Safarov after he had served eight years of his sentence
conformed with a European legal convention on extradition.
"Ramil Safarov was pardoned in accordance with the constitution and
laws of Azerbaijan and the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced
Persons," presidential administration official Fuad Alekserov said in
a statement.
Armenia-backed separatists seized Nagorny Karabakh from Azerbaijan in
the war that left some 30,000 people dead.
The two sides have not signed a final peace deal since the 1994
ceasefire and there are still regular firefights along the Karabakh
frontline.