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D. HARUTYUNYAN: WE SHOULDN'T ALLOW THE SLAUGHTERERS TO THINK THAT THEY CAN ENJOY IMPUNITY FOR THE MURDER DRIVEN BY ETHNIC OR RELIGIOUS HATRED
http://times.am/?l=en&p=11929
Chairman of the Armenian delegation to PACE Davit Harutyunyan
delivered a speech at the Bureau of the Council of Europe Parliamentary
Assembly. Mr. Harutunyan especially said:
"Dear President, colleagues,
I would like to bring up an issue that raises our deep concern and
directly affects
not only the fragile equilibrium in South Caucases region â~@¢but
also challenges our common values shared by the members of the Council
of Europe.
This is the issue of transfer of Ramil Safarov from Hungary to
Azerbaijan and his consequent pardon by the President of that country.
But first, let me briefly recall the background of the issue before
coming to the core message.
Ramil Safarov is an Azerbaijani serviceman imprisoned in Hungary since
19 February 2004, sentenced to life imprisonment for hacking Armenian
Lt.Gurgen Margaryan to death with an axe in 2004 in Budapest. Safarov
killed Armenian Lt Margaryan when he was asleep in his room at a
military academy in Budapest, where both servicemen attended NATO
English-language courses. Safarov is trying to kill also the second
Armenian servicemen, who slept in other room, but fortunately others
prevented that.
In 2006 the Hungarian court of first instance sentenced Safarov to
life imprisonment without the right to apply for parole until 2036.
The Court took into account the premeditated nature and brutality of
the crime and the fact that Safarov showed no remorse for his deeds.
The Hungarian Cassation court upheld the ruling following an appeal
filed by Safarov's lawyer.
Ever since the court decision Azeri authorities were trying to persuade
Hungarian side to extradite Safarov to Azerbaijan. But given the
fact that Ramil Safarov's crime was glorified in Azerbaijan and he
himself was treated as a hero, as an example to be followed by the
youth Armenia expressed its concern over such a possibility. And the
Armenian government has been in contact with the Hungarian authorities
over this issue permanently and received the latter's assurances that
the issue of extraditions is not on the agenda. Last time we received
such assurances is a week ago.
However, contrary to all those assurances, on 31 August 2012 Hungary
transferred Ramil Safarov to Azerbaijan to serve the remainder of
his sentence there, after presumably receiving assurances from the
government in Baku that his sentence would be enforced. On the same
day by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan he was immediately
pardoned and set free. On the same day he was promoted from lieutenant
to the rank of a major, the Azeri state also gave him a new apartment
and 8 years' worth of military salary to compensate for the years he
spent in the Hungarian jail-cell.
Without going into details of the portion of responsibility Hungary
bears in this matter and the obvious naivety of the legal explanation
given by the Hungarian Authorities over Safarov's transfer, I would
like to touch upon the two other aspects of the issue.
First, Safarov had been transferred to Baku on the basis of a
1983 Strasbourg Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons
guaranteeing convicted prisoners the right to serve their punishment
in their home country. However, clemency granted to Ramil Safarov on
the day of his arrival by the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev,
reveals some shortcomings of the convention. It is evident that we
could not always count on the good faith of the countries to which
sentenced persons are transferred, and as we have seen some of them
are ready to abuse the rights provided for in the convention.
Secondly, according to the judgement, the horrendous manslaughter
took place only because Gurgen Margaryan was an Armenian, as
murderer admitted himself during the testimony. The environment of
glorification and justification of the murderous act of Ramil Safarov
has been cultivated in Azerbaijan at official level, including the
level of President of Azerbaijan. It is noteworthy that this heinous
crime has consistently received public praise at an official level in
Azerbaijan. Ombudsperson of Azerbaijan called the murderer example of
patriotism for the Azerbaijani youth. In 2005, Safarov was awarded
the "Man of the Year 2005â~@³ by the National Democratic Party of
Azerbaijan for his deed.
On the day of his arrival to Baku and after he was set free he was
paraded around as a hero during celebrations hosted by the Azeri
state. By the way, during the celebrations he has been accompanied
by the members of Azerbaijani delegation in PACE, which is also an
alarming signal.
May also I remind you the words of the then Permanent Representative
of Azerbaijan to the Council of Europe Agshin Mehdiyev: "I do not
advise Armenians to sleep safely until the Karabakh conflict is
settled. Incidents like in Budapest cannot be ruled out."
By the way - nobody in this organisation reacted to those words.
All these developments indicate clearly the level of state sponsored
policy of cultivating racist and xenophobic anti-Armenian sentiments in
the society. This is a very dangerous and worrisome sign not only for
Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia but also for the whole system of values
that we share and committed ourselves to promote and upheld. We cannot
ignore these developments, we cannot stand aside, we have to react.
Armenia expects that this time the Council of Europe will react
promptly and accordingly to these unacceptable developments which
have undermined respect for justice, human rights and human dignity
and challenge the very essence of the Council of Europe values
and commitments. Otherwise it may give rise to and nourish racial
discrimination, xenophobia, and intolerance in a Council of Europe
member state. We shouldn't allow the slaughterers to think that they
can enjoy impunity for the murder driven by ethnic or religious hatred.
We would encourage clear and unambiguous message of PACE in this
matter, most relevant though the organizing of debates under urgent
procedure.
It's our responsibility - legal and moral - to show consistency that
values do not only have to be preached, but also upheld. Otherwise by
our non-actions we will wilfully support the cause of a brutal murderer
driven by nationalism and ethnic hatred. Moreover, the refusal to
have our say will put at stake the credibility of the whole idea of
Convention system of our Organization, let alone the human rights,
democracy and rule of law.
Silence and indifference, ambiguous and vague statements of PACE are
not anymore an option".
From: Baghdasarian
http://times.am/?l=en&p=11929
Chairman of the Armenian delegation to PACE Davit Harutyunyan
delivered a speech at the Bureau of the Council of Europe Parliamentary
Assembly. Mr. Harutunyan especially said:
"Dear President, colleagues,
I would like to bring up an issue that raises our deep concern and
directly affects
not only the fragile equilibrium in South Caucases region â~@¢but
also challenges our common values shared by the members of the Council
of Europe.
This is the issue of transfer of Ramil Safarov from Hungary to
Azerbaijan and his consequent pardon by the President of that country.
But first, let me briefly recall the background of the issue before
coming to the core message.
Ramil Safarov is an Azerbaijani serviceman imprisoned in Hungary since
19 February 2004, sentenced to life imprisonment for hacking Armenian
Lt.Gurgen Margaryan to death with an axe in 2004 in Budapest. Safarov
killed Armenian Lt Margaryan when he was asleep in his room at a
military academy in Budapest, where both servicemen attended NATO
English-language courses. Safarov is trying to kill also the second
Armenian servicemen, who slept in other room, but fortunately others
prevented that.
In 2006 the Hungarian court of first instance sentenced Safarov to
life imprisonment without the right to apply for parole until 2036.
The Court took into account the premeditated nature and brutality of
the crime and the fact that Safarov showed no remorse for his deeds.
The Hungarian Cassation court upheld the ruling following an appeal
filed by Safarov's lawyer.
Ever since the court decision Azeri authorities were trying to persuade
Hungarian side to extradite Safarov to Azerbaijan. But given the
fact that Ramil Safarov's crime was glorified in Azerbaijan and he
himself was treated as a hero, as an example to be followed by the
youth Armenia expressed its concern over such a possibility. And the
Armenian government has been in contact with the Hungarian authorities
over this issue permanently and received the latter's assurances that
the issue of extraditions is not on the agenda. Last time we received
such assurances is a week ago.
However, contrary to all those assurances, on 31 August 2012 Hungary
transferred Ramil Safarov to Azerbaijan to serve the remainder of
his sentence there, after presumably receiving assurances from the
government in Baku that his sentence would be enforced. On the same
day by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan he was immediately
pardoned and set free. On the same day he was promoted from lieutenant
to the rank of a major, the Azeri state also gave him a new apartment
and 8 years' worth of military salary to compensate for the years he
spent in the Hungarian jail-cell.
Without going into details of the portion of responsibility Hungary
bears in this matter and the obvious naivety of the legal explanation
given by the Hungarian Authorities over Safarov's transfer, I would
like to touch upon the two other aspects of the issue.
First, Safarov had been transferred to Baku on the basis of a
1983 Strasbourg Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons
guaranteeing convicted prisoners the right to serve their punishment
in their home country. However, clemency granted to Ramil Safarov on
the day of his arrival by the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev,
reveals some shortcomings of the convention. It is evident that we
could not always count on the good faith of the countries to which
sentenced persons are transferred, and as we have seen some of them
are ready to abuse the rights provided for in the convention.
Secondly, according to the judgement, the horrendous manslaughter
took place only because Gurgen Margaryan was an Armenian, as
murderer admitted himself during the testimony. The environment of
glorification and justification of the murderous act of Ramil Safarov
has been cultivated in Azerbaijan at official level, including the
level of President of Azerbaijan. It is noteworthy that this heinous
crime has consistently received public praise at an official level in
Azerbaijan. Ombudsperson of Azerbaijan called the murderer example of
patriotism for the Azerbaijani youth. In 2005, Safarov was awarded
the "Man of the Year 2005â~@³ by the National Democratic Party of
Azerbaijan for his deed.
On the day of his arrival to Baku and after he was set free he was
paraded around as a hero during celebrations hosted by the Azeri
state. By the way, during the celebrations he has been accompanied
by the members of Azerbaijani delegation in PACE, which is also an
alarming signal.
May also I remind you the words of the then Permanent Representative
of Azerbaijan to the Council of Europe Agshin Mehdiyev: "I do not
advise Armenians to sleep safely until the Karabakh conflict is
settled. Incidents like in Budapest cannot be ruled out."
By the way - nobody in this organisation reacted to those words.
All these developments indicate clearly the level of state sponsored
policy of cultivating racist and xenophobic anti-Armenian sentiments in
the society. This is a very dangerous and worrisome sign not only for
Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia but also for the whole system of values
that we share and committed ourselves to promote and upheld. We cannot
ignore these developments, we cannot stand aside, we have to react.
Armenia expects that this time the Council of Europe will react
promptly and accordingly to these unacceptable developments which
have undermined respect for justice, human rights and human dignity
and challenge the very essence of the Council of Europe values
and commitments. Otherwise it may give rise to and nourish racial
discrimination, xenophobia, and intolerance in a Council of Europe
member state. We shouldn't allow the slaughterers to think that they
can enjoy impunity for the murder driven by ethnic or religious hatred.
We would encourage clear and unambiguous message of PACE in this
matter, most relevant though the organizing of debates under urgent
procedure.
It's our responsibility - legal and moral - to show consistency that
values do not only have to be preached, but also upheld. Otherwise by
our non-actions we will wilfully support the cause of a brutal murderer
driven by nationalism and ethnic hatred. Moreover, the refusal to
have our say will put at stake the credibility of the whole idea of
Convention system of our Organization, let alone the human rights,
democracy and rule of law.
Silence and indifference, ambiguous and vague statements of PACE are
not anymore an option".
From: Baghdasarian