PACE CHIEF CONDEMNS PARDONING OF EXTRADITED AZERI OFFICER
Interfax
Sept 6 2012
Russa
President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE) Jean-Claude Mignon condemned on Wednesday the pardoning by
the Azeri authorities of officer Ramil Safarov extradited by Hungary,
who was sentenced to life in prison in 2004 for killing an Armenian
military officer in Budapest.
I join the international condemnation of the glorification (by the
Azeri authorities) of a heinous crime committed by Mr. Safarov,
the PACE president said.
His release is unacceptable, and I am deeply disappointed by the
abuse in this case of a CoE legal tool (the Strasbourg Convention on
the Transfer of Sentenced Persons), Mignon said.
The incident will have an adverse effect on the already tense relations
between Armenia and Azerbaijan and could destabilize the situation
in the region, the PACE president said.
I am calling on the Azeri authorities to review their position in
accordance with the CoE standards, Mignon said.
The relations between Yerevan and Budapest soured after the extradition
by Hungary on August 31 of Azeri soldier, Ramil Safarov, who was
sentenced in Budapest to life in prison without the right of pardon for
at least 30 years for the murder of Armenian officer Gurgen Margarian
in 2004.
Safarov was pardoned by Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev on the same
day that he was extradited.
Both Safarov and Margarian were in Budapest doing an English language
course under NATO's Partnership for Peace Program.
On August 31, Armenia announced termination of its diplomatic relations
with Budapest over Safarov's extradition to Azerbaijan.
Interfax
Sept 6 2012
Russa
President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE) Jean-Claude Mignon condemned on Wednesday the pardoning by
the Azeri authorities of officer Ramil Safarov extradited by Hungary,
who was sentenced to life in prison in 2004 for killing an Armenian
military officer in Budapest.
I join the international condemnation of the glorification (by the
Azeri authorities) of a heinous crime committed by Mr. Safarov,
the PACE president said.
His release is unacceptable, and I am deeply disappointed by the
abuse in this case of a CoE legal tool (the Strasbourg Convention on
the Transfer of Sentenced Persons), Mignon said.
The incident will have an adverse effect on the already tense relations
between Armenia and Azerbaijan and could destabilize the situation
in the region, the PACE president said.
I am calling on the Azeri authorities to review their position in
accordance with the CoE standards, Mignon said.
The relations between Yerevan and Budapest soured after the extradition
by Hungary on August 31 of Azeri soldier, Ramil Safarov, who was
sentenced in Budapest to life in prison without the right of pardon for
at least 30 years for the murder of Armenian officer Gurgen Margarian
in 2004.
Safarov was pardoned by Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev on the same
day that he was extradited.
Both Safarov and Margarian were in Budapest doing an English language
course under NATO's Partnership for Peace Program.
On August 31, Armenia announced termination of its diplomatic relations
with Budapest over Safarov's extradition to Azerbaijan.