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February 19 marks the 15th anniversary of the brutal murder of Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan by Azerbaijani lieutenant Ramil Safarov.

The Armenian officer was hacked to death while asleep in Budapest during a NATO-sponsored Partnership for Peace English-language course in Hungary.

Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, lawyer Nazeli Vardanyan reminded that the Budapest District Court found Safarov guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced him to life in prison in April 2006, with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

“Throughout the trial, there were various manipulations. From the very beginning Safarov heroically announced that he had become an officer to destroy all Armenians. At the time he was probably promised that he would stand trial in Baku, and everything was already prepared with the attorney general’s decision in place to forward the case to Azerbaijan. However, I succeeded in having the trail take place in Budapest, and from that moment they changed their defense mechanisms,” the advocate said.

She said the Azerbaijani officer underwent several mental health examinations. The first examination conducted by a psychologist, psychiatrist and stressologist concluded that he was fully sane and aware of the consequences of his act. The second examination found he was partially guilty, arguing that he had been influenced by the Karabakh (Artsakh) conflict due to which that presence of Armenians strained him at once. The third forensic examination mediated by Azerbaijan concluded that he was fully insane.

A fourth forensic examination followed, finding Safarov fully sane at the time of the crime, with the Hungarian court handing him a life sentence for the murder.

Eight years later in 2012, however, Safarov was illegally extradited to Azerbaijan following a government change in Hungary, where he was welcomed as a national hero, with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev immediately granting him a pardon.

According to the advocate, his extradition violated not only the norms of international law, but also the Azerbaijani legislation.

Vardanyan is strongly convinced the brutal murder of the Armenian officer was ordered by the Azerbaijani authorities.

“Safarov would not commit the crime on his own; it was a state order. When you examine Safarov’s activity, you see that he was a promising officer. If Safarov wasn’t convinced that Azerbaijan had his back, he would never take such a step,” she added.

The crime committed against Gurgen Margaryan was Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s first message unveiling his policies and future plans, “An Ordinary Genocide” project manager Marina Grigoryan said.

She stressed there can be no word about peace and solidarity without Azerbaijan’s acknowledgement of the crimes against Armenians and repentance.