ArmInfo.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Azerbaijan commented on the decision of the European Court of Human Rights of May 26 this year in the case of Makuchyan and Minasyan v. Azerbaijan and Hungary.
According to APA, the head of the press service of the Foreign Ministry, Leyla Abdullayeva, said that they had familiarized themselves with the relevant decision of the European Court of Human Rights, but for a more qualified comment, it is necessary for lawyers to familiarize themselves with the verdict.
At the same time, for no reason, she touched the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, accusing Armenia of distorting its causes and in an attempt to distract the attention of the international community from the ongoing alleged occupation.
Abdulaeva did not stop there, and accused Yerevan of intent to turn the European Court into <an instrument of a vilifying campaign against Azerbaijan, politicize this structure and involve it in a propaganda campaign>, which should be rejected.
And finally, referring specifically to the decision of the ECHR in the case with respect to the murderer of the Armenian officer Ramil Safarov, Abdulaev assured that the court did not actually satisfy the main claim of Armenia. <So, a court decision does not require the annulment of a pardon decree, which is the main subject of the proceedings, or a retrial of the case against the person concerned. On the other hand, the claim for a material violation of the right to residence was also rejected>, the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan concluded.
It should be noted that the ECHR today issued a verdict on the statement of the successors of the hacked- off Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan against Azerbaijan and Hungary on the extradition and release of the murderer Ramil Safarov. According to the decision of the ECHR, published on the court's website, Azerbaijan violated the Convention by releasing the extracted officer Safarov. The report of the Court also notes that the case concerns not only the release of the extradited prisoner, but also his heroization. Meanwhile, in the private actions of Safarov there were egregious manifestations of violence that were not characteristic of a military officer. According to the court, Azerbaijan violated its obligations to ensure a proper decision of the Hungarian court. In conclusion, the ECHR decided to pay Azerbaijan to the applicants (successors of Margaryan) in compensation and legal costs 15,143.33 pounds. At the same time, the ECHR did not see any violations by Hungary, which extradited Safarov to Azerbaijan. The decision noted that in Budapest they could not know that Safarov would be released immediately upon arrival at home.
Recall that on February 19, 2004, the lieutenant of the Armenian army, Gurgen Margaryan, who was sent to Budapest for English courses as part of the NATO Partnership for Peace program, was brutally slaughtered with an ax by an Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov, a participant in the same courses. On April 13, 2006, the Budapest trial court sentenced Safarov to life imprisonment without the right to pardon for 30 years. On August 31, 2012, Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov, sentenced to life in prison in Hungary, was extradited to his homeland. On the same day, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on his pardon. The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan paid the killer a salary that had accumulated over the entire time that he had been in custody (more than eight years), provided him with an apartment, and also awarded him the rank of major. In connection with the extradition of Safarov, Armenia suspended diplomatic relations and all official ties with Hungary.