Stepanakert: The encouragement and approval by the authorities and  society of Azerbaijan of Safarov`s heinous crime is an alarming signa  ofl serious transformation of the public consciousness in Azerbaijan 

ArmInfo.Artsakh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement regarding the ECHR verdict in the case of Makuchyan and Minasyan v. Azerbaijan and Hungary.

As the press service of NKR MFA reports, the statement, in  particular, states: <On May 26, 2020, the European Court of Human  Rights ruled on the murder of Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan by  Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov in Hungary in 2004, as well as the  extradition, pardon and glorification of the murderer in Azerbaijan.   The court ruled that Azerbaijan had violated Article 2 (the right to  life) and Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) of the European  Convention on Human Rights.

It is noteworthy that during the proceedings, the Court noted that  the actions of Azerbaijan - the pardon of Ramil Safarov immediately  after his arrival in Azerbaijan, the payment of salaries during his  stay in the Hungarian prison, the provision of an apartment and the  career advancement - indicate that Azerbaijan recognizes and accepts  the crimes by Ramil Safarov as its own. The court also stressed that  each of these measures individually and collectively had testified  that various state structures and top officials had approved and  encouraged Ramil Safarov's actions and that the approval and  encouragement were strongly supported by the Azerbaijani society as a  whole.

As we have repeatedly stated, pardon, heroization and popular  glorification of a murderer as a role model to follow are an integral  part of the state policy of the Azerbaijani authorities conducted for  years on inciting Armenophobia in the country and encouraging hate  crimes against Armenians. We consider it necessary to recall once  again that the manifestations of racism and xenophobia against  Armenians in Azerbaijan have been repeatedly mentioned in the  documents of a number of international organizations, in particular,  the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the  European Commission against Racism, and Intolerance and the Council  of Europe Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the  Protection of National Minorities.

The fact that not only the Azerbaijani authorities, but also the  majority of the Azerbaijani society approve and encourage the heinous  crime committed by Ramil Safarov is an alarming signal of serious  transformation of the public consciousness in the country.

The ECHR ruling on the murder of Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan by  Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov can and should become a basis for  taking practical steps, supported by the international community, to  eradicate the negative phenomena caused by the multi-year state  policy and practice of the Azerbaijani authorities on injecting the  "hatred virus" against Armenians and everything Armenian into the  public consciousness>.

It should be noted that on May 26 the ECHR issued a ruling on the  statement of the successors of the killed Armenian officer Gurgen  Margaryan in relation to Azerbaijan and Hungary on the extradition  and release of the murderer Ramil Safarov.  According to the decision  of the ECHR, published on the court's website, Azerbaijan violated  the Convention by releasing officer Safarov. The report of the Court  also notes that the case concerns not only the release of the  extradited prisoner, but also his heroization. Meanwhile, in the  private actions of Safarov there were egregious manifestations of  violence that were not characteristic of a military officer.   According to the court, Azerbaijan violated its obligations to ensure  a proper decision of the Hungarian court. In conclusion, the ECHR  decided that Azerbaijan must pay to the applicants (Margaryan's  successors) a compensation and legal costs amounting to 15,143.33  pounds. At the same time, the ECHR did not see any violations by  Hungary, which extradited Safarov to Azerbaijan. The decision noted  that in Budapest they could not know that Safarov would be released  immediately upon arrival at home.  To note, official Baku has already  responded to this verdict of the ECHR. The spokeswoman for the  Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry stated that the court did not actually  satisfy the main claim of Armenia.  "So, the court's decision does  not require the annulment of the decree on pardon, which is the main  object of the proceedings, or the re-examination of the case against  the relevant person. On the other hand, the claim for material  violation of the right to reside was also rejected," the  representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan   concluded.