“Secret talks have been held under the serious control of President of Azerbaijan for extradition of Safarov for about a year. At the same time Ilham Aliyev supervised the negotiations between the law enforcement agencies of Azerbaijan and Hungary for a long time.,” Head of the Foreign Relations Department of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan Novruz Mammadov told Mass Media when commenting on extradition and pardon to Ramil Safarov, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Hungarian Court, Regnum News agency reports.
“Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to pardon Ramil Safarov, as soon as he set foot in Azerbaijan. Therefore, steps to extradite Ramil Safarov to Azerbaijan were taken in a completely closed environment:. There simply was not necessary to inform the public about this sensitive topic ahead of time. There is no doubt that our nation is well aware of and appreciates it. But some people have tried to gain dividends on this,”- Mammadov said.
Earlier on August 31 the Hungarian authorities extradited Azerbaijan Officer Ramil Safarov, who was pardoned by the Azerbaijani president the same day.
To recall, on February 19 2004, R. Safarov viciously axed sleeping G. Margaryan in Budapest. Both the officers were undergoing an English language course under the NATO program. On April 13 2006 the First Instance Court of Budapest sentenced Safarov to life imprisonments without the right to pardon for 30 years. In February 2007 the Court of Appeal left the verdict unchanged.
President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan decreed awarding Gurgen Margaryan with Gallantry Medal posthumously.