ECtHR treats Ramil Safarov's release in Azerbaijan as illegal

By pardoning Ramil Safarov, found guilty of killing Gurgen Margaryan, an officer of the Armed Forces of Armenia, Azerbaijani authorities have violated the articles on the right to life and the prohibition of discrimination, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in 2006, a court in Budapest sentenced Ramil Safarov, an Azerbaijani soldier, to life imprisonment on charges of killing Gurgen Margaryan, an officer of the Armed Forces of Armenia, committed in 2004 in Budapest. On August 31, 2012, Safarov was extradited to Azerbaijan, where President Ilham Aliev signed a decree on his pardoning.

On May 26, 2020, the ECtHR ruled on the Margaryan's murder case. By pardoning Safarov, Azerbaijani authorities violated two articles of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR): Article 2 on the right to life, and Article 14 on the prohibition of discrimination, says the ECtHR's decision posted on its website.

The applicants to the ECtHR were citizens of Armenia, Aik Makuchyan, who was found to be the suffered party in the murder case, and Samvel Minasyan, a Margaryan's uncle, who is now deceased. As a result, the ECtHR ordered Azerbaijan to reimburse the applicants with 15,143.33 pound sterling (about USD 18,680).

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 27, 2020 at 04:30 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.