The Armenian community of Hungary paid its respects, at the Armenian cross-stone that is placed in Budapest, to Armenian army officer Gurgen Margaryan, who was brutally murdered nine years ago by Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov, who in 2012 was declared a hero in Azerbaijan for this act of his.     

Armenian News-NEWS.am reported earlier that Ramil Safarov, a lieutenant in the Azerbaijani military, was extradited on August 31, 2012 from Hungary, where he was serving a life sentence—and with no expression of either regret or remorse—for the premeditated axe murder of Armenian lieutenant Gurgen Margaryan, in his sleep, during a NATO Partnership for Peace program in Budapest back in 2004. Safarov had planned on killing the other Armenian military serviceman, who likewise was attending the aforesaid program, but he was unable to carry out this plan.

Ramil Safarov’s return to Baku was welcomed, as was his act of murder, by the officials of president Ilham Aliyev’s government and much of Azerbaijani society, and the Azerbaijani president immediately granted him a pardon, he was declared a national hero, promoted to a higher military rank, and was allocated housing and pension.

And Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan announced on August 31, 2012 that Armenia is suspending its diplomatic ties with Hungary. Also, Sargsyan instructed the Ministry of Justice to take all measures to petition to the international judicial tribunals, and with respect to the Safarov case.    

Ramil Safarov’s pardoning was condemned by virtually all international organizations.    

Also, a group of Hungarian intellectuals visited Armenia last year—and in connection with this incident—to announce that they are ashamed of the action that was taken by the Hungarian authorities.