In the context of the large-scale military operations unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan recalled the axing of Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan by Azerbaijani Ramil Safarov. As reported by “Armenpress”, Pashinyan spoke about this in an interview with “Al Jazeera”.

“The ECHR has ruled on specific crimes against Azerbaijan. Let us consider the case of Ramil Safarov, who participated in NATO training together with the Armenian officer. The Armenian officer was killed by Safarov with an ax while he was sleeping. Azerbaijan has been carrying out anti-Armenian propaganda for many years, and this case is one of the consequences. It took place in Hungary. A Budapest court sentenced Safarov to life in prison. After spending eight years in prison, Safarov was extradited to Azerbaijan, where Aliyev decided to release him and began a process of national praise. This episode describes the history of the Karabakh conflict. The context of today’s events can be explained by this. “Today, many Ramil Safarovs are attacking civilians sleeping in their homes,” Pashinyan said.

In 2004, Gurgen Margaryan was in Budapest, Hungary, to participate in the NATO Partnership for Peace training program. During the trial, Safarov stated that he committed the crime out of hatred for Armenians and Armenia. The Budapest court sentenced him to life in prison. However, in 2012 Safarov was extradited to Azerbaijan, where he was pardoned.

It should be reminded that in the early morning of 27 September, Azerbaijan started active shelling along the line of contact with Artsakh. Peaceful settlements were also shelled, including the capital Stepanakert, as a result of which civilians were killed in different regions of Artsakh. The Azerbaijani Armed Forces also targeted the military and civilian infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia. On the morning of 3 October, Shushan Stepanyan, spokeswoman for the RA Ministry of Defense, said that fierce fighting was taking place in the northern and southern directions of the Artsakh border. The enemy, concentrating great forces in these areas, launched an attack. Armenian units stoped the enemy’s advance, causing great losses.