Tuesday, February 19 2019 15:16

ArmInfo. Fifteen years have  passed since the wanton murder of an officer of the Armenian Armed  Forces Gurgen Margaryan in the NATO training camp in Budapest by  Azeri Ramil Safarov.

Today, during a press conference in Yerevan, lawyer Nazeli Vardanyan,  representing the interests of the successors of the murdered Gurgen  Margaryan, assured that the Azerbaijani authorities ordered the  killing of the Armenian officer in the NATO training camp. According  to her, she came to a similar conclusion after studying the biography  of Safarov. "Safarov could not spontaneously make such a decision,  since he was an officer looking far into the future and would never  have taken such a step if he were not sure that Azerbaijan would  protect him. It was a state order. And we must consistently voice  this question, thus causing Azerbaijan to feel guilty, "said  Vardanyan.

At the same time, she added that the transfer of Ramil Safarov by  Hungary to Azerbaijan was carried out in violation of all  international norms. "Azerbaijan is responsible for what happened.  Attempts to influence the judicial process, the conclusion of the  examination, justification means that the Azerbaijani side is  responsible for the actions of Safarov", emphasized Vardanyan.

On February 19, 2004, the lieutenant of the Armenian army Gurgen  Margaryan, who was sent to Budapest for English language courses  under the NATO Partnership for Peace program, was hacked to death by  an ax Azeri officer Ramil Safarov, a participant in the same courses.  On April 13, 2006, the court of first instance in Budapest sentenced  Safarov to life imprisonment without the right to pardon for 30   years.  However, on August 31, 2012, the Azerbaijani officer Ramil  Safarov, convicted in Hungary for life, was extradited to his  homeland. On the same day, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed  a decree on his pardon. The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan paid  the murderer a salary that had accumulated over the entire period of  his detention (more than eight years), granted him an apartment, and  also assigned him the rank of major. In connection with the  extradition of Safarov, Armenia suspended diplomatic relations and  all official relations with Hungary.  After the outbreak of scandal,  Budapest made a statement in which he assured that prior to the  extradition of Ramil Safarov, Azerbaijan gave Hungary written  guarantees that Safarov's life sentence could be changed only by a  court for another term of detention or release on parole at least 25  years old.  Meanwhile, according to some sources, Safarov was  extradited in response to Azerbaijan's promise to buy out Hungarian  government bonds worth 2-3 billion euros. Official Budapest denies  these reports.