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EU'S Schulz 'Disturbed' By Azerbaijan's Pardon Of Axe Killer

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  • EU'S Schulz 'Disturbed' By Azerbaijan's Pardon Of Axe Killer

    EU'S SCHULZ 'DISTURBED' BY AZERBAIJAN'S PARDON OF AXE KILLER

    Agence France Presse
    September 4, 2012 Tuesday 2:52 PM GMT

    European Parliament head Martin Schulz expressed horror Tuesday after
    Azerbaijan brushed aside criticism of its pardon for a soldier who
    axed an Armenian officer to death in his sleep.

    Schulz added his voice to condemnation of the pardon -- already sharply
    criticised by the US and EU President Herman Van Rompuy -- after Baku's
    foreign minister appeared to blame Yerevan for Azerbaijani soldier
    Ramil Safarov's 2004 killing of Armenian officer Gurgen Margarian.

    In a move that has ratcheted up tensions between the ex-Soviet foes,
    Azerbaijan pardoned Safarov last week after he was extradited from
    Hungary, where he had been serving a life sentence for the murder.

    "The convention on the transfer of sentenced people should not be
    abused for political purpose," Schulz said in a statement.

    "I am disturbed by what appears to be a politically motivated pardon
    of Mr Safarov by the president of Azerbaijan," he added, while urging
    Azerbaijan and Armenia "to avoid any moves and statements that might
    exacerbate the situation."

    Safarov hacked Margarian to death in his sleep at a military academy
    in Budapest where the servicemen were attending English-language
    courses organised by NATO.

    His lawyers claimed in court that he was traumatised because some of
    his relatives had been killed during Azerbaijan's war with Armenia
    over the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh in the 1990s, and alleged
    that Margarian had insulted his country.

    Earlier Tuesday, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov
    told US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns that the murder was
    "directly related" to the war.

    "Ramil Safarov and his family, like a million other Azerbaijanis,
    are forced refugees and as a result of ethnic cleansing, they were
    expelled from their homes. First of all, this must be taken into
    account," Mammadyarov said.

    The US State Department has said it is "extremely troubled" by
    the pardon.

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