The office of Fundamental Rights Ombudsman of Hungary Mate Szabo said on Monday that the Justice Ministry had not responded within 15 days to a request for information regarding Ramil Safarov's repatriation.
According to www.budapesttimes.hu, the ministry responded by saying that Justice Minister Tibor Navracsics had replied promptly to Szabo's letter of 19 September, asking the ombudsman to submit an official request for access to classified documents.
Szabo noted in his letter that Hungarian law prevents the repatriation of a convicted criminal in the absence of assurances that he will serve out the remainder of his sentence. The documents released by the government as the scandal broke in the days following Safarov's release contained no assurances from the Azeri side that the murderer would not be pardoned, referring only to a clause in the relevant treaty that prevents the alteration of the sentence.
