Hungary provides no info on Safarov’s alleged extradition to Azerbaijan

August 31, 2012 - 16:15 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Hungarian state institutions refrain from commenting on the alleged extradition of Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan’s assassin Ramil Safarov to Azerbaijan.

Lieutenant of the Armenian Armed Forces Margaryan, 26, was hacked to death, while asleep, by lieutenant 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.

According to Azerbaijani media outlets, “Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed a decree to grant Ramil Safarov amnesty.”

A PanARMENIAN.Net reporter tried to clarify the information from Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Justice, all the attempts ending with being requested to file a note by email, with no reply received yet.

Gurgen Margaryan

On February 19, 2004, 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 Partnership for Peace NATO-sponsored program. In accordance with Budapest District Court sentence dated April 13, 2006, Ramil Safarov was life imprisoned for murdering the Armenian officer.

On February 22, 2007, Budapest Court rejected the Azerbaijani military officer's appeal against a life sentence. The appeal court ruled that the decision brought by Budapest District Court against 30-year-old Lieutenant Ramil Safarov, should stand.

On August 31, 2012, Hungary extradited Safarov back to Azerbaijan, where he was promptly pardoned by President Ilham Aliyev.