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10th Anniversary Of Armenian Officer Gurgen Margaryan's Axe-Murder

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  • 10th Anniversary Of Armenian Officer Gurgen Margaryan's Axe-Murder

    10TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN OFFICER GURGEN MARGARYAN'S AXE-MURDER

    Lieutenant of the Armenian Armed Forces Gurgen Margaryan, 26, was
    hacked to death, while asleep, by a fellow Azerbaijani participant.

    February 19 marks the 10th anniversary of the murder of Armenian
    officer Gurgen Margaryan.

    February 19, 2014

    PanARMENIAN.Net - 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.

    In 2012, Safarov was extradited to Azerbaijan and pardoned by
    Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

    Official Yerevan reacted by suspending diplomatic ties with Hungary.

    Hungary, however, stated that it had sent Safarov back to Azerbaijan
    after receiving assurances from the Azerbaijani Justice Ministry that
    Safarov's sentence, which included the possibility of parole after
    25 years, would be enforced.

    Hungary's Prime Minister Victor Orban first stated that he transferred
    the prisoner to Azerbaijan on the understanding that he would serve
    out the rest of his life sentence in his home country. In later
    statements, Orban admitted that he not only signed the extradition
    agreement himself, but that he had repeatedly been warned that if
    Safarov were extradited to oil-rich Azerbaijian, he would be pardoned
    and even celebrated by Ilham Aliyev's brutal dictatorial regime.

    According to some reports, Safarov was extradited to Azerbaijan in
    exchange for Azeri purchase of Hungarian securities worth Euro 2-3
    billion, an information official Budapest denies.

    "Hungarian prime minister is "morally bankrupt" and should resign
    after admitting that he personally approved the transfer of the Azeri
    axe murderer while knowing the likely consequences," the leader of
    the opposition Socialists said.

    Attila Mesterhazy said it was clear from Orban's comments that he
    had been aware that Azerbaijan would release the life-sentenced Ramil
    Safarov after his repatriation.

    "Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan's assassin Ramil Safarov fulfilled
    Azerbaijan's state order," lawyer Nazeli Vardanyan said.

    "I am of the same opinion as I was eight years ago. It was a state
    order," she said.

    According to her, Azeri authorities from the very beginning were
    actively involved in the lawsuit, trying hard to mitigate Safarov's
    sentence.

    "Azerbaijan even established an embassy in Budapest, with
    representatives of Azeri and Turkish embassies present at court
    hearings," Ms. Vardanyan said, adding that Safarov was later announced
    a national hero in Azerbaijan.

    In this context, she quoted Azerbaijan's Ombudsman Elmira Suleymanova
    and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev as saying, "Safarov must set an
    example for the young generation" and "Armenians must be killed in
    Nagorno Karabakh."




    From: A. Papazian
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