France’s Armenians to rally against Safarov’s pardoning Sept 6

September 3, 2012 - 15:30 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - On September 6, Armenian community of France will hold a rally in front of Hungarian embassy in Paris to protest extradition and pardoning of Azeri assassin Ramil Safarov, Nouvelles d'Arménie said.CCAF (Coordination Council of Armenian organizations of France) urged Hungarian leadership to demand Safarov’s imprisonment from Azerbaijan. The Council slammed Safarov’s pardoning as a violation of international legislation, threatening Armenian nation’s right for life and freedom.

“Pardoning of Armenian officer’s murderer on the threshold of Genocide 100th anniversary is nothing but a perpetuation of the Pan-Turkist policy of impunity for extermination of Armenians,” France’s Armenian community stressed.

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.