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.