European Parliament condemns Safarov pardon
In a resolution passed on 13 September, the European Parliament deplored the pardon granted by President Aliyev of Azerbaijan to Ramil Safarov, on his transfer to Azerbaijan from Hungary, where he had been sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of an Armenian colleague in 2004, and the hero's welcome accorded to Safarov on his return to Azerbaijan.
MEPs fear this could further inflame tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia and jeopardise "all peaceful reconciliation processes". They say that the "legitimate frustration in Azerbaijan and Armenia" at the lack of substantial progress in the peace process in Nagorno-Karabakh "does not justify either acts of revenge or futile provocations".
They call on the EU to play more of a role in the settlement of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. Parliament also says that the association agreement being negotiated between the EU and Azerbaijan should include human rights and rule-of-law clauses and benchmarks.
Parliament deplores the pardon granted by President Aliyev of Azerbaijan to Ramil Safarov, on his transfer to Azerbaijan from Hungary, where he had been sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of an Armenian colleague.in 2004, and the hero's welcome accorded to Safarov on his return to Azerbaijan. MEPs fear this could further inflame tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia and jeopardise "all peaceful reconciliation processes". They say the "legitimate frustration in Azerbaijan and Armenia" at the lack of substantial progress in the peace process in Nagorno-Karabakh "does not justify either acts of revenge or futile provocations". They call on the EU to play a stronger role in the settlement of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. Parliament also says the association agreement under negotiation between the EU and Azerbaijan should include human rights and rule-of-law clauses and benchmarks.
