Armenia’s Justice Minister advises his Hungarian counterpart to resign

YEREVAN, September 3. /ARKA/. Armenia’s Justice Minister Hrayr Tovmasyan addressed an open letter to his Hungarian counterpart Tibor Navracsics expressing his deep indignation related to the extradition of Azeri murderer Ramil Safarov to Azerbaijan.

On 31 August Budapest extradited Safarov to Azerbaijan where he was immediately pardoned by President Ilham Aliyev.

According to some media sources, Azerbaijan intends to buy Hungarian government bonds valued 2-3 billion euros. Some analysts say Baku used this deal to get Safarov.

These actions erupted outrage in Yerevan. On 31 August Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan invited the heads of all diplomatic missions in Armenia to the extraordinary meeting and said Armenia suspends all diplomatic relations with Hungary

Mr. Tovmasyan said in a letter that Hungary’s Justice Minister should have known that he was transferring a person, having committed a murder based on motive of racial hostility, to a country where he is glorified.

“You must have known that [this] is a slap first of all to the justice of Hungary and generally to the whole European value system,” wrote Mr. Tovmasyan.

Armenian Justice Minister said that Azerbaijan’s assurances to Navracsics must not have been satisfactory. 

“I would have resigned in your place as a minister,” wrote Tovmasyan. “However, even in case of resignation, the family of Gurgen Margaryan, the Armenian people, and the whole progressive humanity will remember you as the one having ‘justified’ the murderer,” he added.

Tovmasyan concluded by saying that his ministry will break all bilateral relations with the Ministry of Administration and Justice of Hungary.—0--