Budapest released Safarov, a soldier, to Azerbaijan last
month where Azeri President Ilham Aliyev pardoned him on arrival. Safarov had
served eight years of a life sentence for killing an Armenian officer during a
NATO-sponsored training session in Hungary in 2004.
Armenia immediately broke diplomatic ties with Hungary
and said that releasing Safarov, who was given a hero’s welcome on his return,
was a “grave mistake.”
In the resolution the European Parliament said it
“Deplores the decision by the President of Azerbaijan to pardon Ramil Safarov,
a convicted murderer sentenced by the courts of a Member State of the European
Union… is further concerned that this act is jeopardizing all peaceful
reconciliation processes within the societies concerned and may undermine the
possible future development of peaceful people-to-people contact in the
region.”
The resolution also said the Safarov’s pardon “runs
contrary to the spirit of that international agreement, which was negotiated to
allow the transfer of a person convicted on the territory of one state to serve
the remainder of his or her sentence on the territory of another state.”
“Considers the presidential pardon granted to Mr Safarov
as a violation of the diplomatic assurances given to the Hungarian authorities
in Azerbaijan’s request for transfer on the basis of on the Convention on the
Transfer of Sentenced Persons,” said the resolution.
The European Parliament also said it “Deplores the hero’s
welcome accorded to Mr Safarov in Azerbaijan and the decision to promote him to
the rank of major and pay him eight years’ back salary upon his arrival, and is
concerned about the example this sets for future generations and about the
promotion and recognition he has received from the Azerbaijani state.”
Below is the complete text of the final resolution
adopted Thursday by the European Parliament:
Azerbaijan: the case of Ramil Safarov
The European Parliament,
having regard to its previous resolutions on the
situation in Azerbaijan, in particular those concerning human rights,
having regard to the established practice of
international law regarding transfer, namely the Convention on the Transfer of
Sentenced Persons, under which it was agreed that cooperation should be
developed in order to further the ends of justice and the social rehabilitation
of sentenced persons, by giving them the opportunity to serve their sentences
within their own society,
having regard to the statement issued by its President,
Martin Schulz, on 5 September 2012 concerning the pardon granted to Ramil
Safarov in Azerbaijan,
having regard to the joint statement issued by the High
Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine
Ashton, and Commissioner Štefan Füle on 3 September 2012 concerning the release
of Mr Safarov,
having regard to the statement issued by the Secretary-General
of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, on 4 September 2012,
having regard to the official letter received by the
Ministry of Public Administration and Justice of Hungary on 15 August 2012 from
the Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Vilayat Zahirov,
having regard to its resolution of 18 April 2012 on the
negotiations of the EU Azerbaijan Association Agreement,
having regard to the statement issued by the Hungarian
Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, on 3 September 2012, in which he gave an
assurance that Hungary had acted in accordance with its international
obligations,
having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation
Agreement between the EU and Azerbaijan, which entered into force in 1999, and
to the ongoing negotiations between the two parties on a new association
agreement to replace the previous one,
having regard to Rules 122(5) and 110(4) of its Rules of
Procedure,
A. whereas Ramil Safarov had been jailed in a Hungarian
prison since 2004 after brutally killing an Armenian colleague during a course
sponsored by NATO’s Partnership for Peace Programme in Budapest; whereas Mr
Safarov had pleaded guilty and had expressed no remorse, defending his action
on the grounds that the victim was Armenian;
B. whereas on 31 August 2012 Mr Safarov, a lieutenant of
the Azerbaijani armed forces who had been convicted of murder and sentenced to
life imprisonment in Hungary, was transferred to Azerbaijan at the longstanding
request of the Azerbaijani authorities;
C. whereas immediately after Mr Safarov was transferred
to Azerbaijan the Azerbaijani President, Ilham Aliyev, pardoned him in line
with the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Article 12 of the
Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons;
D. whereas Article 9 of the Convention on the Transfer of
Sentenced Persons, to which Hungary and Azerbaijan are both signatory parties,
states that a person sentenced in the territory of one state may be transferred
to the territory of another in order to serve the sentence imposed on him or
her, provided that the conditions laid down in that convention are met;
E. whereas the Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic
of Azerbaijan, Vilayat Zahirov, sent an official letter to the Ministry of
Public Administration and Justice of Hungary on 15 August 2012, in which he
stated that the execution of the decisions of foreign states’ courts regarding
the transfer of sentenced persons to serve the remaining part of their prison
sentences in the Republic of Azerbaijan were carried out in accordance with
Article 9(1)(a) of the convention, without any conversion of their sentences;
whereas he further gave an assurance that, according to the Criminal Code of
the Republic of Azerbaijan, the punishment of a convict serving a life sentence
could only be replaced by a court with a term of imprisonment for a specified
period, and that the convict could be released on conditional parole only after
serving at least 25 years of his or her prison sentence; and whereas the
Azerbaijani authorities subsequently denied having given any diplomatic
assurances to the Hungarian authorities;
F. whereas Lieutenant Safarov received a glorious welcome
in Azerbaijan and a few hours after his return was granted a presidential
pardon, set free and promoted to the rank of major during a public ceremony;
G. whereas the decision to set Mr Safarov free triggered
widespread international reactions of disapproval and condemnation;
H. whereas on 31 August 2012 the Armenian President,
Serzh Sargsyan, announced that Armenia was suspending its diplomatic relations
with Hungary;
I. whereas Azerbaijan participates actively in the
European Neighborhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership, is a founding member
of Euronest and has committed itself to respect democracy, human rights and the
rule of law, which are core values of these initiatives;
J. whereas Azerbaijan has taken up a non-permanent seat
in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2012-2013 period and
committed itself to uphold the values enshrined in the UN Charter and the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
K. whereas Azerbaijan is a member of the Council of
Europe and a party to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as well as
to a number of other international human rights treaties, including the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
1. Stresses the importance of the rule of law and of
honoring commitments made;
2. Deplores the decision by the President of Azerbaijan
to pardon Ramil Safarov, a convicted murderer sentenced by the courts of a
Member State of the European Union; regards that decision as a gesture which
could contribute to further escalation of the tensions between two countries,
and which is exacerbating feelings of injustice and deepening the divide
between those countries, and is further concerned that this act is jeopardizing
all peaceful reconciliation processes within the societies concerned and may
undermine the possible future development of peaceful people-to-people contact
in the region;
3. Considers that, while the presidential pardon granted
to Mr Safarov complies with the letter of the Convention on the Transfer of
Sentenced Persons, it runs contrary to the spirit of that international
agreement, which was negotiated to allow the transfer of a person convicted on
the territory of one state to serve the remainder of his or her sentence on the
territory of another state;
4. Considers the presidential pardon granted to Mr
Safarov as a violation of the diplomatic assurances given to the Hungarian
authorities in Azerbaijan’s request for transfer on the basis of on the
Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons;
5. Deplores the hero’s welcome accorded to Mr Safarov in
Azerbaijan and the decision to promote him to the rank of major and pay him
eight years’ back salary upon his arrival, and is concerned about the example
this sets for future generations and about the promotion and recognition he has
received from the Azerbaijani state;
6. Takes the view that the frustration in Azerbaijan and
Armenia over the lack of any substantial progress as regards the peace process
in Nagorno-Karabakh does not justify either acts of revenge or futile
provocations that add further tension to an already tense and fragile
situation;
7. Expresses its support for the ongoing efforts of the
European External Action Service (EEAS), the EU Special Representative for the
South Caucasus and the Member States to defuse tensions and ensure that
progress is made towards peace in the region;
8. Supports the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group in their
efforts to secure substantial progress in the peace process in Nagorno-Karabakh
with a view to finding a lasting, comprehensive settlement in accordance with
international law;
9. Insists that the EU should play a stronger role in the
settlement of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh by supporting the implementation
of confidence-building measures which will bring together Armenian and
Azerbaijani communities and spread ideas of peace, reconciliation and trust on
all sides;
10. Reiterates its position that the association
agreement currently being negotiated between the EU and Azerbaijan should
include clauses and benchmarks relating to the protection and promotion of
human rights and the rule of law;
11. Condemns all forms of terrorism and the use of threats
of terrorism;
12. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to
the EEAS, the European Council, the Commission, the respective governments and
parliaments of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, the
Council of Europe, the OSCE and the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and
counter-terrorism.
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder
Not: Yalnızca bu blogun üyesi yorum gönderebilir.