SAFAROV TO BE MOVED TO STRICT REGIMEN PENITENTIARY

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The murder of the Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan by the Turkish Officer Ramil Safarov was a crime aimed at breaking the internal tranquility of Hungary. Besides, it brutally offends the country’s hospitality. This is a quotation from the verdict brought by the Appellate Court of Budapest on the hearing of February 22. Nazeli Vardanyan, the lawyer representing the interests of Gurgen Margaryan’s side and Hayk Demoyan, Director of the “Genocide” Institute-Museum also touched upon the issue in their letters to the Court.

As stated by Nazeli Vardanyan, after examining the case thoroughly the judge Piroshka Karpati announced that after many-lateral consideration the verdict of April 13 2006, i.e., a life-long imprisonment, would enter into force without further changes. Moreover, the judge added, that “nowadays people cannot be killed for their ethnic identity”.

As soon as the verdict became public Azeris proclaimed that it was not only Ramil Safarov’s case but that of the entire Azeri nation. According to Hayk Demoyan though, it is notable that for the first time the Azeri embassy was not represented at the court. Apparently they knew, that things could go that way.

Within eight days Azeris declared that they would challenge the court decision at a higher judicial body. Nazeli Vardanyan says their efforts are surely to fail. Of course they can forward the case to the Strasburg Human Rights Tribunal, however in this case the Armenian side will only gain from it. “The Azeris will prove smarter in case they don’t bring this disgraceful crime to the forefront of the European public’s attention and disclose the inhuman faces of their army officers”, says Hayk Demoyan.

Ramil Safarov will be transferred from the investigative isolation cabin to the strict regimen penitentiary to serve his punishment term as was initially ruled. According to Nazeli Vardanyan his extradition is out of question since there has been no precedent of extraditing life-long convicts in Hungary. “That was the reason for the Ramil Safarov’s lawyer Madyar Dorj wanting to soften the initial court ruling, so that it would be easier to bring him back, but there was no way for that anyway”, assures Vardanyan. As for the compensation, she says it is a subject of another trial and they will make sure that this matter is brought to the court too.