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AZERBAIJAN'S PRESIDENT DEFENDS KILLER'S PARDON
The Associated Press
September 7, 2012 Friday 01:37 PM GMT
Azerbaijan's president on Friday vehemently defended his pardon
of a military officer who murdered an Armenian officer with an ax,
a decision that has drawn strong international criticism.
Last week's pardon of Ramil Safarov has aggravated tensions between
the two countries and raised concerns about resumption of fighting
over a separatist region of Azerbaijan that has been under Armenian
control since 1994.
Safarov killed the Armenian in 2004 while both were in Hungary on
a NATO language course. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, but
Hungary repatriated him, saying Azerbaijan promised that he would
serve out his sentence at home.
But Safarov was pardoned immediately by Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliev upon his arrival in Azerbaijan's capital of Baku. He was even
promoted from lieutenant to major and given back wages for the years
he spent in Hungarian custody.
Aliev told a news conference Friday the pardon was allowed by the
constitution and that "the decision to pardon him is correct from
the legal viewpoint and is well-founded."
The U.N.'s top human rights official, meanwhile, strongly criticized
the pardon for Safarov.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay's spokesman, Rupert
Colville, told reporters Friday in Geneva that "ethnically motivated
hate crimes of this gravity should be deplored and properly punished."
He added the U.N. hopes this won't harm efforts to end the dispute
between ex-Soviet neighbors Azerbaijan and Armenia over the
Nagorno-Karabakh territory.
Aliev's pardon of Safarov has angered Armenia and raised concerns
about a possible resumption of hostilities.
The Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and some adjacent territory
has been under the control of Armenian troops and local ethnic Armenian
forces since a 1994 cease-fire. That agreement ended a six-year war
that killed an estimated 30,000 people and drove about 1 million from
their homes.
The Associated Press
September 7, 2012 Friday 01:37 PM GMT
Azerbaijan's president on Friday vehemently defended his pardon
of a military officer who murdered an Armenian officer with an ax,
a decision that has drawn strong international criticism.
Last week's pardon of Ramil Safarov has aggravated tensions between
the two countries and raised concerns about resumption of fighting
over a separatist region of Azerbaijan that has been under Armenian
control since 1994.
Safarov killed the Armenian in 2004 while both were in Hungary on
a NATO language course. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, but
Hungary repatriated him, saying Azerbaijan promised that he would
serve out his sentence at home.
But Safarov was pardoned immediately by Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliev upon his arrival in Azerbaijan's capital of Baku. He was even
promoted from lieutenant to major and given back wages for the years
he spent in Hungarian custody.
Aliev told a news conference Friday the pardon was allowed by the
constitution and that "the decision to pardon him is correct from
the legal viewpoint and is well-founded."
The U.N.'s top human rights official, meanwhile, strongly criticized
the pardon for Safarov.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay's spokesman, Rupert
Colville, told reporters Friday in Geneva that "ethnically motivated
hate crimes of this gravity should be deplored and properly punished."
He added the U.N. hopes this won't harm efforts to end the dispute
between ex-Soviet neighbors Azerbaijan and Armenia over the
Nagorno-Karabakh territory.
Aliev's pardon of Safarov has angered Armenia and raised concerns
about a possible resumption of hostilities.
The Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and some adjacent territory
has been under the control of Armenian troops and local ethnic Armenian
forces since a 1994 cease-fire. That agreement ended a six-year war
that killed an estimated 30,000 people and drove about 1 million from
their homes.