UN CHIEF CONCERNED OVER CASE INVOLVING AZERI ARMY OFFICER

Xinhua General News Service
September 6, 2012 Thursday 4:55 PM EST
China

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon has voiced his concerns about
the development surrounding the case of Azeri army officer Ramil
Safarov since he was transferred from a Hungarian jail, a note to
correspondents released here said on Thursday.

The United Nations underscored the responsibility of member states
to adhere to international standards and principles of rule of law in
criminal cases in order to ensure accountability and fight impunity,
said the note released by Ban’s spokesperson’s office.

Safarov, 35, had been serving a life sentence in a Hungarian jail
for murdering Armenian officer Guigen Margaryan during a 2004 NATO
training event in Budapest, capital of Hungary.

After Safaro was transferred to Azerbaijan on August 31, he was
immediately pardoned and released.

Armenia responded by cutting off diplomatic ties with Hungary, as
the Central Asian country is still in conflict with Azerbaijan over
Nagorno-Karabakh, a region that lies with Azerbaijan but has been
controlled by Armenian troops and ethnic forces since a separatist
war broke out in 1988.

“As highlighted by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) co-chairs in their recent statement, we hope that this
issue will not damage the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and trust
between the sides,” said the note. “There is no alternative to a
peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress