Gurgen Margaryan assassination: European court blasts Azerbaijan for unjustified failure to punish ethnic hate crime

The European Court of Human Rights has passed a judgment on the case Makuchyan and Minasyan vs Azerbaijan and Hungary - relating to the assassination of an Armenian officer by an Azerbaijani counterpart in Budapest.

Gurgen Margaryan was axed to death by Ramil Safarov in February 2004 while both servicemen were attending a three-month NATO English training course in the Hungarian capital.

The Court has condemned the Azerbaijan for a failure to enforce a prison sentence for a crime committed against the ethnic background.

It cited numerous violations of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), particularly the articles precluding the presidential pardon granted to the axe-killer after his extradition to the country in 2012. The Court stated that the Safarov's glorification upon his return - and subsequent promotion to the rank of a major - were in serious breach of conventional provisions, setting a bad precedent for future generations in Azerbaijan. The Court took the view that the frustration in Azerbaijan and Armenia over the lack of substantial progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) peace efforts "does not justify either acts of revenge or futile provocations that add further tension to an already tense and fragile situation".

But the Court did not find Hungary in breach of any norms in giving guarantees that Safarov would continue serving his sentence at home after extradition.  The Court relied on the assumption that the Hungarian government had no reason to expect Azerbaijan's failure to act in line with its international commitments.

The applicant demanded compensation only for judiciary costs and expenses (GBP 15,143.33 pounds sterling), which the Court satisfied. Azerbaijan is to pay the sum within three months after the effective date of the judgment.

The full text of the judgment can be accessed on the Court's website