Tuesday,
European Court Faults Azerbaijan For ‘Endorsing’ Axe Murder Of Armenian Officer
• Emil Danielyan
• Harry Tamrazian
Armenia - The funeral of Lieutenant Gurgen Markarian, an Armenian army officer
who was axe-murdered by an Azerbaijani colleague during a NATO training course
in Budapest, 25Feb2004.
Azerbaijan violated a key European convention by pardoning, rewarding and
glorifying an Azerbaijani army officer who hacked to death a sleeping Armenian
colleague in Hungary in 2004, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on
Tuesday.
The Strasbourg-based court said Baku’s actions amounted to the “approval” and
“endorsement” of the “very serious ethnically-biased crime” committed by the
officer, Ramil Safarov, during a NATO training course held in the Hungarian
capital Budapest.
A court in Budapest sentenced Safarov to life imprisonment in 2006, convicting
him of axe-murdering Lieutenant Gurgen Markarian and trying unsuccessfully to
kill another Armenian participant of the course, Hayk Makuchian, in the same
fashion. Markarian was attacked while he slept in his dormitory room.
Safarov received a hero’s welcome in Baku immediately after the Hungarian
authorities controversially extradited him to Azerbaijan in 2012. He was not
only pardoned by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev but also promoted to the
rank of major, granted a free apartment and paid eight years’ worth of back pay.
Safarov’s release provoked a furious reaction from Armenia and strong
international criticism. Armenia suspended diplomatic relations with Hungary in
protest.
Azerbaijan -- Ramil Safarov, center, receives a hero's welcome in Baku,
31Aug2012.
In 2013, Makuchian and Markarian’s now deceased uncle, Samvel Minasian, appealed
to the ECHR to rule that the Azerbaijani and Hungarian governments’ actions ran
counter to several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights. One of
those articles upholds a person’s right to life while another forbids any ethnic
or religious discrimination.
The plaintiffs also asked the court to consider ordering the revocation of
Safarov’s pardon. They did not seek any damages apart from a reimbursement of
their legal expenses.
In a lengthy verdict, the ECHR concluded that “the acts of Azerbaijan in effect
granted [Ramil Safarov] impunity for the crimes committed against his Armenian
victims.” Those acts were “racially motivated,” it said.
“Quite apart from his pardon, the Court is particularly struck by the fact that,
in addition to immediate release, upon his return to Azerbaijan [Safarov] was
granted a number of other benefits, such as salary arrears for the period spent
in prison, a flat in Baku and a promotion in military rank awarded at a public
ceremony,” reads the ruling.
“In addition, the Court finds particularly disturbing the statements made by a
number of Azerbaijani officials glorifying [Safarov,] his deeds and his pardon.
It also deplores the fact that a large majority of those statements expressed
particular support for the fact that [Safarov’s] crimes had been directed
against Armenian soldiers, congratulated him on his actions and called him a
patriot, a role model and a hero,” it says.
At the same time the Strasbourg rejected the plaintiffs’ claim that the
Azerbaijani authorities are directly responsible for Markarian’s murder. It said
that while the authorities clearly endorsed the killing there is no evidence to
suggest that Safarov’s actions “could have been foreseen by his commanding
officers or should be held imputable to the Azerbaijani State as a whole.”
Hungary -- Thousands of people protest against the government's decision to
extradite soldier Ramil Safarov, in Budapest, 04Sep2012
Azerbaijani officials have for years sought to justify the brutal murder,
portraying Safarov as a victim of “Armenian aggression” against Azerbaijan.
Accordingly, Aliyev has defended his decision to free the convicted axe-murderer.
“Azerbaijan freed its officer, returned him to the homeland and restored
justice,” the Azerbaijani president declared in 2013.
Philip Leach, the director of the London-based European Human Rights Advocacy
Center, which also represents the plaintiffs, welcomed the “strong verdict”
handed down by the ECHR.
“Of course, the court did not go further and clarify what exactly the
Azerbaijani authorities should do now,” Leach told RFE/RL’s Armenian service.
“But the case can now be sent to the ECHR’s Grand Chamber or the Committee of
Ministers of the Council of Europe to decide what steps should be taken by the
Azerbaijani authorities.”
Leach said the committee, which represents all Council of Europe member states,
is in a position to decide whether to tell the Azerbaijani authorities to send
Safarov back to jail and thus “restore justice” for the families of the two
Armenian officers. He expressed hope that “such pressure will be exerted” on
Baku.
The Armenian government’s representative to the ECHR, Yeghishe Kirakosian, also
hailed the ECHR ruling. “It is probably the first time that the European Court
noted the Azerbaijani state’s policy of Armenophobia and ethnic discrimination
against Armenians,” said Kirakosian.
The ECHR also cleared Hungary of any wrongdoing in the scandalous affair. It
said the Armenian plaintiffs failed to substantiate their claim that the
Hungarian government should have known beforehand that Safarov will be set free
if repatriated.
Official Budapest has insisted all along that the extradition was in line with
the European convention. It has also said that it had received formal assurances
from Baku that Safarov will serve the rest of the life sentence in an
Azerbaijani prison.
Armenia’s former government dismissed this explanation when it froze diplomatic
ties with Hungary in 2012. Then Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian alleged at
the time that corruption was at the root of the “Azerbaijani-Hungarian deal.”
Azerbaijan - President Ilham Aliyev (R) meets with Hungary's Prime Minister
Viktor Orban in Baku, 30Jun2012.
In a 2017 report, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP)
revealed that from 2012 to 2013 more than $9 million was transferred to
Hungarian bank accounts of an offshore company owned by a son of a senior
Azerbaijani government official. It said that the first $450,000 cash transfer
was carried out in July 2012, one month before Safarov’s extradition.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto strongly denied any connection
between the cash flows and the scandalous extradition. Hungary’s controversial
Prime Minister Viktor Orban visited Baku in June 2012.
The OCCRP report titled “The Azerbaijan Laundromat” claimed that Azerbaijan’s
ruling elite used a $2.9 billion slush fund to pay off European politicians, buy
luxury goods, and launder money in 2012-2014.
Armenia To End Direct Election Of Town Mayors
• Anush Mkrtchian
Armenia - Supporters of mayoral candidate Gevorg Parsian take part in an
election campaign rally in Kapan, 18 October 2018.
Armenia’s government and parliamentary opposition have joined forces to draft
legislation that will abolish direct elections of the mayors of all towns and
even some villages in the country.
Under the proposed bill debated by the Armenian parliament on Tuesday, only
local communities with up to 4,000 residents will continue to have directly
elected mayors.
Residents of the larger communities will elect, on a party-list basis, only
local councils that will turn in appoint their mayors.
Such a mechanism is already in place in Armenia’s three largest cities: Yerevan,
Gyumri and Vanadzor. The government, the ruling My Step bloc as well as the
opposition Bright Armenia and Prosperous Armenia parties want to extend it to
the other urban communities and large villages.
Presenting the bill to lawmakers, Minister for Local Government Suren Papikian
said the proposed change will strengthen democracy in the country by increasing
the role of political parties and alliances.
“This draft law guarantees that there will be a healthy political atmosphere in
those communities,” he said. “The model existing in the [national] parliament
will also be introduced in local communities.”
Papikian claimed that clan-based and even “criminal” connections have often been
decisive for the outcome of direct mayoral elections held in those communities.
He also noted that many of them are still run by mayors who were elected in
disputed circumstances before the 2018 “Velvet Revolution.” He did not deny that
the current government wants to make it harder for them to get reelected.
The minister, who oversees provincial administrations and local governments,
insisted at the same time that he has “never had a problem” with any town mayor.
Despite Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s popularity, candidates nominated or
endorsed by his bloc have lost some of the mayoral elections held since the 2018
change of government.
Armenian Government Keen To Avoid Renewed Coronavirus Lockdown
Armenia -- People stroll in downtown Yerevan, .
The Armenian government indicated on Tuesday that it still has no plans to
re-impose a nationwide lockdown despite the accelerating spread of coronavirus
in the country.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said the government will instead toughen
penalties for people and businesses not following safety rules which it believes
can stop the growing number of new coronavirus cases.
“Administrative measures taken to date will be toughened further,” he said,
adding that law-enforcement and sanitary authorities will step up their
inspections of businesses, buses and taxis.
Speaking at a joint news briefing with Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian and
Health Minister Arsen Torosian, Pashinian again called on Armenians to
frequently wash their hands, wear face masks in all enclosed spaces and practice
social distancing.
“We are confident that if these rules are followed our epidemiological situation
will not only improve but also gravitate towards an end,” he said. “So we
continue to believe that our main task and message is to tell our dear
compatriots that following these rules is very important and even obligatory.”
“Dialogue with citizens” remains the key element of the government’s fight
against the COVID-19 epidemic, added Pashinian.
“It means that no economic restrictions are expected anytime soon,” explained
Avinian. “We switched [in April] to the model of a decentralized fight, which
means that each of us has to contribute to this fight and to protect themselves
and their loved ones.”
“Every effort will be made to avoid the return to a nationwide quarantine,” he
said. “But that requires us to be as disciplined as possible.”
Armenia -- A message at the entrance to a shop warns customers to wear face
masks and gloves, Yerevan, .
The government is thus essentially sticking to its strategy of tackling the
epidemic despite a significant increase in new coronavirus cases registered in
Armenia. The Ministry of Health said in the morning that the total number of
cases rose by 289 to 7,402 in the past day. It also reported 4 more fatalities
which raised the official death toll from the virus to 91.
According to Torosian, 310 infected people were in a critical or serious
condition as of Tuesday evening. The minister repeatedly warned last week that
Armenian hospitals treating such patients will soon run out of vacant intensive
care beds.
Pashinian’s government imposed a nationwide lockdown in late March, ordering the
closure of most nonessential businesses and seriously restricting people’s
movements. But it began relaxing these restrictions already in mid-April.
Although the daily numbers of confirmed COVID-19 infections steadily increased
in the following weeks, most sectors of the Armenian economy were reopened by
May 4. The government went on to lift its ban on public transport and allow
kindergartens, shopping malls, indoor restaurants and gyms to resume their work.
Opposition figures and other critics say that the authorities ended the lockdown
too soon and never enforced it properly in the first place. They also accuse
Pashinian of trying to dodge responsibility for his poor handling of the
coronavirus crisis with regular statements to the effect that ordinary Armenians
must share with their government responsibility for tackling the epidemic.
“We will overcome the epidemic as soon as there is a change in citizens’
epidemiological behavior,” the prime minister insisted on Tuesday. “We don’t
know of any other method.”
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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