Ramil Safarov
| Ramil Səfərov | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Ramil Sahib oğlu Səfərov August 25, 1977 Jabrayil, Azerbaijani SSR, Soviet Union |
| Residence | Baku, Azerbaijan |
| Occupation | Major in Azerbaijani Army |
| Criminal charge | Murder |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment |
| Criminal status | Extradited to Azerbaijan, pardoned by President Ilham Aliyev |
 The murder weapon
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 Protesters burn the Hungarian flag in Yerevan on YouTube
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Ramil Sahib oglu Safarov (Azerbaijani: Ramil Sahib oğlu Səfərov, [ɾɑmil sɑhib oɣlu sæfæɾov]); born August 25, 1977) is an officer of the Azerbaijani Army who was convicted of the 2004 murder of Armenian Army Lieutenant Gurgen Margaryan. During a NATO-sponsored training seminar in Budapest, Safarov broke into Margaryan's dormitory room at night and axed him to death while Margaryan was asleep.
In 2006, Safarov was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in Hungary with a minimum incarceration period of 30 years. After his request under the Strasbourg Convention, he was extradited on August 31, 2012 to Azerbaijan, where he was greeted as a hero, pardoned by Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev despite contrary assurances made to Hungary, promoted to the rank of major and given an apartment and over eight years of back pay. According to Azerbaijani authorities, Safarov was pardoned in compliance with Article 12 of the convention. Following Safarov's pardon, Armenia severed diplomatic relations with Hungary and immediate protests broke out in Yerevan. The extradition was widely condemned by international organizations and governments of many countries, including the US, Russia, France.
Ramil Safarov was born on August 25, 1977 in the town of Jabrayil, former Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic of Soviet Union (now Nagorno Karabakh Republic) where he finished middle school. He is one of four brothers. Jabrayil was captured by Armenian forces on August 26, 1993, and remains under control of Nagorno-Karabakh army as part of the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Safarov's family fled to Baku in 1991. During a court hearing, Safarov recounted memories from the years of war, during which he had lost family members. This, however, contradicted another version he told the court, where he stated that he was studying in Azerbaijan's capital of Baku and in Turkey from 1992 to 1996. He continued his studies at Maltepe Military High School in İzmir and then at the Turkish Military Academy, graduating in 2000, after which he returned to Azerbaijan.
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Wikipedia