Council of Europe Demands Azerbaijan Implement ECHR Ruling on Ramil Safarov

The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers demands that Azerbaijan comply with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling in the case of Gurgen Margaryan. This information comes from the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers press service.

In a decision published within the framework of monitoring the implementation of judgments, the committee addressed the brutal murder of Armenian serviceman Gurgen Margaryan by Ramil Safarov in Budapest in 2004. According to the decision, four years after the ECHR ruling, Azerbaijani authorities have yet to implement the individual measures mandated by the judgment.

The committee has once again called for the immediate payment of costs incurred by the representatives of the applicants. It has required proof that the pardons announced on the President of Azerbaijan’s website have been removed. The committee reiterated that perpetrators of such grave crimes must be deprived of their rights to hold public office.

Furthermore, the committee has demanded clarification regarding the legality of other privileges granted to Safarov. It emphasized that such actions in the future must be excluded, and any pardons or privileges granted for such crimes should adhere to the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The committee has called on Azerbaijan to undertake new legislative measures to combat ethnic-based hatred and discrimination. It has also demanded that Azerbaijani authorities submit a detailed report on progress in the case before the meeting scheduled for June 2025.

If individual measures are not implemented, the Council of Europe plans to adopt an interim resolution aimed at increasing scrutiny over Azerbaijan.

It is noteworthy that 20 years ago, during NATO training courses in Budapest, Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov brutally murdered Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan and attempted to kill another Armenian officer, Haik Makuchyan. Safarov was extradited to Azerbaijan in 2012, where he was hailed as a hero and awarded.