Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev said at a briefing on Thursday that Azerbaijan has brought a note to Hungary which asserted that Ramil Safarov was released in accordance with Azerbaijani legislation and international norms.
According to the spokesman, the note also stated that the country’s constitution gives the president of Azerbaijan absolute right to pardon.
“Procedure for transfer and pardon of Safarov was made in accordance with Azerbaijani and international law,” Abdullayev said.
As Trend news agency reports Safarov’s case should be considered in the context of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as Safarov witnessed ethnic cleansing by Armenia against the Azerbaijani population.
On Augugust 31 Azeri officer Ramil Safarov, convicted in Hungary, was pardoned and returned to Azerbaijan.
When participating in NATO exercises in 2004 in Hungary, Safarov was charged with the murder of Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan, who insulted the Azerbaijani flag. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the right to appeal during 30 years. The page writes that after the Azerbaijani officer’s release, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan announced that Armenia suspends diplomatic relations and all official contacts with Hungary.
When Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan in 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts between the two South Caucasus countries began a conflict.
The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France and the U.S. – are currently holding peace negotiations.
