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A monument to Gurgen Margaryan, an Armenian officer who was killed by Azeri officer Ramil Safarov, and Gurgen Margaryan Park were opened in Yerevan’s Achapniak district today. 

The monument was unveiled by Baroness Caroline Cox and Gurgen Margaryan’s mother.

In her remarks, Baroness Cox said that being a mother, she shares the feelings of Gurgen Margaryan’s family.

“I was shocked to hear that the Armenian officer was killed in his sleep, and I was deeply surprised that the murderer was welcomed as a hero in Azerbaijan. It raises concerns in terms of Azerbaijan’s future and education of Azeri children,” she said.

Lieutenant Gurgen Margaryan was murdered in his sleep by Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov on February 19, 2004, in Budapest, as the two were attending three-month English language courses as part of NATO’s “Partnership for Peace” program.

Ramil Safarov, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in Hungary, was transferred back to his home country on August 31, 2012, under an extradition agreement, where he was immediately pardoned and awarded a hero’s medal by the Azerbaijani government.

Although Azerbaijan formally pledged that the life sentence handed down to Safarov in Hungary would be directly continued when he was returned to his homeland, the Azerbaijani president granted him clemency, national hero status, and provided him with a slew of lifetime government benefits.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan announced that same day that Armenia would suspend diplomatic relations with Hungary.