Ramil Safarov

Common card · No. 399594

Ramil Sahib oghlu Safarov (Azerbaijani: Ramil Sahib oğlu Səfərov [ɾɑˈmil sɑˈhip oɣˈlu sæˈfæɾof], born 25 August 1977) is an officer of the Azerbaijani Army who was convicted of the 2004 murder of Gurgen Margaryan, a lieutenant of the Armenian Army. During a NATO-sponsored training seminar in Budapest, Safarov broke into Margaryan's dormitory room at night and axed Margaryan to death while he was asleep. In Azerbaijan, Safarov has become a highly celebrated figure for his killing of an Armenian. In 2006, Safarov was convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in Hungary with a 30-year minimum. After his request under the Strasbourg Convention, he was extradited on 31 August 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...

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