YEREVAN. – Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Venice Commission President Gianni Buquicchio addressed a letter to Armenia’s Constitutional Court President Gagik Harutyunyan, and noted that he deeply shares the resentment over the recent developments.  

Buquicchio said he fully joins Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland’s following statement made in this regard, and on behalf of the entire organization:

“Ramil Safarov was convicted for murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in Hungary. On August 31, he was transferred to Azerbaijan, and immediately pardoned. I do not want to comment on the legal proceedings, but I find it unacceptable that a convicted murderer is welcomed as a hero.

I reject the prospect of a world whose moral code begins to fray, where respect for human dignity is denied. This is not the Europe that we should wish for future generations. I condemn such glorification of crime, and urge that we all work to uphold the respect for life, and our values as defended by the Council of Europe.”