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| ==Reactions== | ==Reactions== | ||
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| Armenia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed outrage and vehemently condemned the crime, stating that it "...expects that international organizations will assess this crime appropriately and react. At the same time, we demand that the ] authorities punish the perpetrator to the maximum extent of the law. The Armenian Foreign Ministry expresses its condolences to the family, relatives and colleagues of Lieutenant Gurgen Margarian."<ref>Armenian Foreign Ministry. . February 19, 2004. Accessed April 30, 2008.</ref> |
Armenia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed outrage and vehemently condemned the crime, stating that it "...expects that international organizations will assess this crime appropriately and react. At the same time, we demand that the ] authorities punish the perpetrator to the maximum extent of the law. The Armenian Foreign Ministry expresses its condolences to the family, relatives and colleagues of Lieutenant Gurgen Margarian."<ref>Armenian Foreign Ministry. . February 19, 2004. Accessed April 30, 2008.</ref> On August 31, 2012 Armenian President ] announced that Armenia is suspending diplomatic relations and all official contacts with Hungary <ref> President.am August 31, 2012. Accessed September, 11, 2012.</ref>. | ||
| ===Azerbaijan=== | ===Azerbaijan=== | ||
Revision as of 12:26, 11 September 2012
| Gurgen Margaryan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | September 26, 1978 Yerevan, Armenian SSR |
| Died | February 19, 2004 Budapest, Hungary |
| Allegiance | Armenia |
| Service | Armenian Army |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
Gurgen Margaryan (Template:Lang-hy; September 26, 1978 - February 19, 2004) was a lieutenant in the Armenian army who was brutally murdered in Budapest, Hungary, on 19 February 2004 by Ramil Safarov, a lieutenant in the Azerbaijani army.
Education
Margaryan was born in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. He received his secondary education at School No. 122 in Yerevan and subsequently graduated from the State Engineering University of Armenia with a bachelor's degree in engineering. After completing his mandatory military service term, he became an officer in the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia with the rank of lieutenant.
Murder
On January 11, 2004, he left for Budapest, Hungary, to participate in a three-month English language course which was part of NATO's Partnership for Peace program. On February 19 he was axed, while asleep, by his fellow Azerbaijani participant, Lieutenant Ramil Safarov. The murder took place at 5 am, while the victim was asleep. Margaryan's Hungarian roommate, Balázs Kuti, remembers that on the evening of February 18 he had tea and went to bed, as he had a fever, while Margaryan busied himself with his studies. Around 9:30 pm, Margaryan went to visit another program participant from Armenia, Hayk Makuchyan, who was staying in another room.
Kuti does not remember when Margaryan returned, but early in the morning he felt that someone had turned on the light. He thought it was Gurgen returning to the room, but after hearing some muffled sounds, he turned his head away from the wall and saw Safarov standing by Margaryan's bed with a long axe in his hands:
By that time, I understood that something terrible had happened for there was blood all around. I started to shout at the Azerbaijani, urging him to stop it. He said that he had no problems with me and would not touch me, stabbed Gurgen a couple of more times, and left. The expression of his face was as if he was glad he had finished something important.
A postmortem concluded that Safarov had delivered sixteen blows to Margaryan's face, nearly severing his head from his body. Earlier, a briefing given by the Hungarian police added that Margaryan had also been stabbed several times in the chest. After he killed Margaryan, Safarov went forward with his plan to murder Makuchyan, but discovered his door was locked. In the meantime, Kuti had run out of his room and summoned the police, who promptly arrived at the scene and arrested Safarov. During interrogation he confessed to killing Margaryan. A Budapest policeman commented that the murder had been conducted "with unusual cruelty," adding "beside a number of knife wounds on his chest, the victim's head was practically severed from his body."
Trial and verdict
During the trial, Safarov's lawyers attempted to convince the judge that he had an unstable mind, and claimed that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. They argued that he had gone through psychological trauma during the Nagorno-Karabakh War, and that he and his family had been subject to Armenian atrocities in the region of Jabrayil. However, this contradicted a statement Safarov had made when he said he had been studying in Azerbaijan's capital of Baku and in Turkey from 1992 to 1996. A mental health examination conducted by an Azerbaijani doctor concluded that he was not "entirely sane." Another examination found that Safarov was of stable mind at the time of the murder, and the judge chose to believe this assessment. An Azerbaijani physician alleged, based on his supposed personal conversations with Safarov, that his motives stemmed from his belief that Margaryan had insulted (in some versions, that he had urinated on) the Azerbaijani flag in front of other participants in the NATO seminar. The defense called no witnesses to substantiate these allegations.
On April 16, 2006, the court sentenced Safarov to life imprisonment without possibility of appeal until 2036. The judge, Andras Vaskuti, cited the premeditated nature and brutality of the crime and the fact that Safarov showed no remorse for his deeds as the reasons for the sentence. On February 22, 2007, a Hungarian court upheld the ruling following an appeal filed by Safarov's lawyer.
In late August 2012, however, Hungarian authorities agreed to release and extradite Safarov to Azerbaijan to serve the remainder of his sentence there. Though the Hungarian government stated that it had received assurances from the Azerbaijan government that the sentence would be enforced, President Ilham Aliyev issued a pardon immediately upon Safarov's arrival to Baku and ordered that he be "freed from the term of his punishment." Safarov has since been promoted to the rank of major and provided with accomodations by the Azerbaijan government.
Reactions
Armenia
Armenia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed outrage and vehemently condemned the crime, stating that it "...expects that international organizations will assess this crime appropriately and react. At the same time, we demand that the Hungarian authorities punish the perpetrator to the maximum extent of the law. The Armenian Foreign Ministry expresses its condolences to the family, relatives and colleagues of Lieutenant Gurgen Margarian." On August 31, 2012 Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan announced that Armenia is suspending diplomatic relations and all official contacts with Hungary .
Azerbaijan
Many officials in Azerbaijan publicly condemned, but privately praised, Safarov's actions. Zardusht Alizade, an Azeri political scientist, said that Safarov would have been a national hero, if not recognized as someone who had committed a crime, for which he must be punished. Elmira Suleymanova, the human rights commissioner (ombudsman) of Azerbaijan, declared that Safarov's punishment was far too harsh and that "Safarov must become an example of patriotism for the Azerbaijani youth." Fuad Agayev, a prominent Azeri lawyer, said that Azeris "...have to urgently stop this current campaign to raise Safarov to the rank of national hero. He is no hero.”
Burial
Margaryan's body was flown back to Armenia and was buried at Yerablur military cemetery.
See also
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References
- "Biography of Gurgen Margaryan." Accessed August 31, 2012.
- ^ Murder of Lt. Gurgen Margaryan. The Budapest Case. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
- ^ Grigorian, Mariana and Rauf Orujev. "Murder Case Judgement Reverberates Around Caucasus." Institute for War and Peace Reporting. April 20, 2006. Retrieved May 1, 2008.
- "Armenian Officer Axe Murdered By Azeri Colleague in Hungary." Asbarez. February 19, 2004. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
- "As Armenia Protests Killer's Pardon, Azerbaijan Promotes Him." RFE/RL. September 1, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
- "Hungary jails Azerbaijani killer." BBC News. 13 April 2006. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
- "Azeri jailed for life in Hungary for killing Armenian." Reuters. 22 February 2007. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
- "Azerbaijani military officer serving life for murder in Hungary is freed when sent home." Washington Post. August 31, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
- Armenian Foreign Ministry. Statement by the Ministry on the Murder of an Armenian Lieutenant in Budapest by an Azerbaijani military officer. February 19, 2004. Accessed April 30, 2008.
- President.am President Serzh Sargsyan Invited an Extraordinary Meeting with the Heads of Diplomatic Missions August 31, 2012. Accessed September, 11, 2012.
- Responses by Azerbaijanis. The Budapest Case. Accessed April 30, 2008.
External links
- Budapest Case - on the murder of Lt. Gurgen Margaryan: Safarov's testimony, eye-witness accounts, Armenian and Azerbaijani Responses