September 22, 2012 - 18:21 AMT
Armenian NA speaker briefs European parliament heads on Safarov pardon

Armenian Parliament speaker Hovik Abrahamyan delivered a speech on September 21 at European Conference of Presidents of Parliaments held under the auspices of PACE.

In his speech he attached great importance to extradition and pardon of Azerbaijani murderer Ramil Safarov, voicing concerns over policy of intolerance and racism pursued in the territory of the Council of Europe.

“An unprecedented incident was recorded recently, with Azerbaijani assassin Safarov extradited to Azerbaijan, pardoned and given a hero's welcome in his homeland.

Justification of such crimes began developing with a new scale, even following the whole civilized world’s condemnation of the occurrence.

Manifestations of racism and xenophobia may set a precedent, with absence of effective struggle against them posing a threat to Europe,” Armenian National assembly speaker said.