The Armenian community of Hungary is scheduled to meet next week with that country’s Ombudsman to discuss the Ramil Safarov case, Vice Chairman Nikoghos Hakobyan of the “Armenian National Autonomy of Hungary” Organization told Armenian News-NEWS.am.   

In his words, Hungary’s Human Rights Defender is looking into the Safarov case, at present, and examining the expediency of taking the case to the court. “We are interested that the Ombudsman launch a judicial process in connection with the legality of Safarov’s extradition. [But] If the Ombudsman makes some other decision, the Armenian community’s representatives themselves will go to court [in this regard],” Nikoghos Hakobyan noted.            

Armenian News-NEWS.am reported earlier that Ramil Safarov, a lieutenant in the Azerbaijani military, was extradited on August 31 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.

As expected, 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.

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

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