The Murder of Gurgen Margaryan is a Vivid Example of Impunity, Says Pashinyan

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has addressed the murder of Armenian soldier Gurgen Margaryan by Azerbaijani criminal Ramil Safarov in Budapest. “Today, we pay tribute to the memory of Armenian soldier Gurgen Margaryan, who became an innocent victim of hatred, racism, and anti-Armenian policies. We express our solidarity to all members of the Margaryan family and their friends. The murder of Gurgen Margaryan and the subsequent pardon and glorification of the convicted murderer is a vivid example of promoting impunity. We are obligated to prevent similar identity-based crimes in the future,” wrote Prime Minister Pashinyan on his Twitter page.

Azerbaijani criminal Safarov brutally killed sleeping Armenian soldier Gurgen Margaryan with 16 stab wounds on February 19, 2004, while attending NATO English language courses in Budapest. A Hungarian court sentenced Safarov to life imprisonment with a condition that his sentence would not be reviewed for 30 years; however, on August 31, 2012, he was extradited to Azerbaijan, where he was to continue serving his sentence. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev granted him a pardon, releasing him, promoting his military rank, and paying his accumulated salary for 8 years. The act of pardoning the criminal has drawn severe criticism from the international community.