Armenian public organizations of Estonia have appealed to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Hungary in Estonia Mr. Erik Haupt with an open letter demanding apologies by the Hungarian Government to the family of the murdered Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan and the Armenian people.
The letter reads:
"Your Excellency Mr. Ambassador!
As you may know, lieutenant Gurgen Margaryan, an officer of Armed Forces of Armenia, was the participant of "Partnership for Peace" program course, held by NATO in Budapest in 2004. At night, February 19, 2004, during his sleep, Gurgen was brutally murdered by Azeri
officer Ramil Safarov, who then was accused by Article 166.2 of the Criminal Code of Hungary (murder with aggravating circumstances).
After two-year trial, on April 13, 2006 Safarov was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 30 years. On
February 22, 2007 Court of Appeal upheld the guilty verdict of the trial court.
However, on August 31, this year, Safarov was extradited to Baku, where he was immediately pardoned by the President of Azerbaijan
Ilham Aliyev. The act of the President of Azerbaijan deserves condemnation. On each and every occasion Ilham Aliev showed his strong hatred towards the Armenian people and the Armenian state. Publicly known that he declared "all Armenians of the world - enemies", and with his last act, Safarov's pardon, he actually confirmed that the murder of an Armenian is not a crime in Azerbaijan.
Crime implemented by Safarov is not just a murder, but a murder committed on the basis of ethnic hostility, and his extradition and
pardon may be and will be perceived by the Azerbaijanis as a license to commit such or more terrible crimes in the future, against all
Armenians, regardless of their place of residence.
We, the members of the Armenian diaspora in Estonia, represented by its public organizations, express our strong protest against the plot
between the governments of Hungary and Azerbaijan. It makes us particularly concerned by the fact that Hungary, being a member of
the European Union, ignored the decision of the court of its own and put the mercantile interests ahead of European values of humanism and justice.
The right to life is a natural and essential right of every human being, it can not be the subject of the transaction between the states. We demand apology from the Government of Hungary to Gurgen Margaryan's family and the Armenian people.
This appeal made in Tallinn at the general meeting of the Armenian organizations of Estonia on the 3rd September 2012."
Armenian community of Estonia demand apologies from Hungary
