BUDAPEST (Combined Sources)–Criminal proceedings against Ramil Safarov for the brutal killing of Gourgen Margaryan is set to begin in Budapest sometime this fall.
Senior Lieutenant Ramil Safarov–an Azeri officer is accused of hacking Margaryan to death–and of attempting to murder a second Armenian officer Hayk Makuchyan. All three soldiers were attending a NATO Partnership for Peace training program in Budapest. Margaryan–26–was murdered with an ax as he slept in the early hours of February 19.
Nazeli Vardanyan–the lawyer for the family of Margaryan–recently stated that a September trial is unlikely due to the fact that the months of July and August are set aside for vacationing in Hungary.
Vardanyan is representing the interests of the legal successors of Margaryan as well as Makuchyan–who is also recognized as a victim in the case.
Safarov is charged with premeditated murder which carries a 10 to 15 years or life imprisonment. The court has yet to decide whether the trial will be public. If he is convicted–Sarafov could be transferred to his homeland to serve his sentence.
