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Scoop.co.nz , New Zealand
Sept 8 2012
Azerbaijani Officer Extradited From Hungary
Saturday, 8 September 2012, 6:44 pm
Press Release: United Nations
UN Concerned Over Legal Case of Azerbaijani Officer Extradited From Hungary
New York, Sep 7 2012 12:10PM The United Nations human rights office is
`seriously concerned' about the case of an Azerbaijani military
officer who was sentenced to life in prison in Hungary for the brutal
2004 murder of an Armenian officer, according to a UN spokesperson.
The Azerbaijani officer, Ramil Safarov, had been taking part in the
same North Atlantic Treaty Organization training programme in Hungary
as his Armenian counterpart, Gurgen Markaryan, at the time of the
crime.
`The concerns relate to the fact that, around a week ago, Safarov was
extradited from Hungary to Azerbaijan, where instead of serving out
the rest of his sentence, he was pardoned by the President, publicly
praised, and promoted by the Defence Ministry,' a spokesperson for the
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Rupert
Colville, told a news briefing in Geneva. `This has resulted in an
international furore.'
The murder had been `clearly ethnically motivated,' Mr. Colville also noted.
OHCHR's concerns echo that of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. In
response to a media question on the issue on Thursday, Mr. Ban's
spokesperson, Martin Nesirky, said that the UN chief is concerned
about the developments surrounding the case of Mr. Safarov.
`The United Nations underscores the responsibility of Member States to
adhere to international standards and principles of rule of law in
criminal cases in order to ensure accountability and fight impunity,'
Mr. Nesirky said.
Addressing the news briefing in Geneva today, Mr. Colville said that
international standards regarding accountability for serious crimes
should be upheld. `Ethnically motivated hate crimes of this gravity
should be deplored and properly punished - not publicly glorified by
leaders and politicians,' he stated.
In their comments, both Mr. Colville and Mr. Nesirky made reference to
a statement earlier this week from the Co-chairs of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Minsk Group, in which
they expressed concern over `the damage the pardon and any attempts to
glorify the crime have done to the [Nagorno-Karabakh] peace process
and trust between the two sides.'
`As highlighted by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe Co-Chairs in their recent statement, we hope that this issue
will not damage the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and trust between
the sides,' Mr. Nesirky said. `There is no alternative to a peaceful
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.'
Co-chaired by France, Russia and the United State, the OSCE's Minsk
Group spearheads that organization's efforts to find a political
solution to the conflict in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, involving
Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The two countries have been in a dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh
region, which is part of Azerbaijan's territory but is occupied by
Armenian forces.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1209/S00066/azerbaijani-officer-extradited-from-hungary.htm
Sept 8 2012
Azerbaijani Officer Extradited From Hungary
Saturday, 8 September 2012, 6:44 pm
Press Release: United Nations
UN Concerned Over Legal Case of Azerbaijani Officer Extradited From Hungary
New York, Sep 7 2012 12:10PM The United Nations human rights office is
`seriously concerned' about the case of an Azerbaijani military
officer who was sentenced to life in prison in Hungary for the brutal
2004 murder of an Armenian officer, according to a UN spokesperson.
The Azerbaijani officer, Ramil Safarov, had been taking part in the
same North Atlantic Treaty Organization training programme in Hungary
as his Armenian counterpart, Gurgen Markaryan, at the time of the
crime.
`The concerns relate to the fact that, around a week ago, Safarov was
extradited from Hungary to Azerbaijan, where instead of serving out
the rest of his sentence, he was pardoned by the President, publicly
praised, and promoted by the Defence Ministry,' a spokesperson for the
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Rupert
Colville, told a news briefing in Geneva. `This has resulted in an
international furore.'
The murder had been `clearly ethnically motivated,' Mr. Colville also noted.
OHCHR's concerns echo that of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. In
response to a media question on the issue on Thursday, Mr. Ban's
spokesperson, Martin Nesirky, said that the UN chief is concerned
about the developments surrounding the case of Mr. Safarov.
`The United Nations underscores the responsibility of Member States to
adhere to international standards and principles of rule of law in
criminal cases in order to ensure accountability and fight impunity,'
Mr. Nesirky said.
Addressing the news briefing in Geneva today, Mr. Colville said that
international standards regarding accountability for serious crimes
should be upheld. `Ethnically motivated hate crimes of this gravity
should be deplored and properly punished - not publicly glorified by
leaders and politicians,' he stated.
In their comments, both Mr. Colville and Mr. Nesirky made reference to
a statement earlier this week from the Co-chairs of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Minsk Group, in which
they expressed concern over `the damage the pardon and any attempts to
glorify the crime have done to the [Nagorno-Karabakh] peace process
and trust between the two sides.'
`As highlighted by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe Co-Chairs in their recent statement, we hope that this issue
will not damage the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and trust between
the sides,' Mr. Nesirky said. `There is no alternative to a peaceful
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.'
Co-chaired by France, Russia and the United State, the OSCE's Minsk
Group spearheads that organization's efforts to find a political
solution to the conflict in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, involving
Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The two countries have been in a dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh
region, which is part of Azerbaijan's territory but is occupied by
Armenian forces.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1209/S00066/azerbaijani-officer-extradited-from-hungary.htm