Twenty-two years have passed since the horrifying murder of Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan by an Azerbaijani officer. In February 2004, English language courses were held in the Hungarian capital Budapest within the framework of NATO's Partnership for Peace program.

These courses were attended also Armenian and Azerbaijani officers, including the future victim, Gurgen Margaryan, and his killer Ramil Safarov. On the night of February 19, Safarov entered a locked room and killed Gurgen Margaryan with an axe while he was sleeping.

Then Safarov tried to kill the second Armenian officer, Hayk Makuchyan. Fortunately, the attempt was unsuccessful, as the door to his room was locked. The trial of this Azerbaijani murderer lasted several years, and the shocked Hungarian public demanded the harshest possible punishment.

On April 13, 2006, Safarov—partly thanks to the efforts of Armenian lawyer Nazeli Vardanyan—was sentenced by a Budapest court to life imprisonment without the right to parole for a period of 30 years. In court, Safarov changed his testimony and retracted his initial testimony, citing his poor knowledge of Russian and English.

During a visit to the Armenian capital Yerevan in 2008, the then Hungarian Foreign Minister Kinga Goncz, answering a question about the possibility of Safarov returning to Azerbaijan, noted that such a possibility exists, but Hungary does not have such an obligation.

The most important question is whether or not Safarov will serve his life sentence in Azerbaijan, the minister added. But a few years later, the Hungarian authorities, represented by still serving Prime Minister Viktor Orban, struck a deal with the Azerbaijani authorities, Ramil Safarov was returned to his homeland, where he was immediately released and declared a hero.

On the same day, August 31, 2012, Armenia broke off diplomatic relations with Hungary. But relations between Yerevan and Budapest have now been restored. The Azerbaijani authorities not only compensated Safarov for the “damage” he caused—an apartment and a title, but also awarded him the title of “national hero.”

Despite this, the European Court of Human Rights did not find any direct link between the Azerbaijani state and Safarov’s actions. Both Ramil Safarov himself and the Azerbaijani authorities have remained completely unpunished.