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| Allegiance | Armenia |
| Service | Armenian Army |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
Gurgen Margaryan (Armenian Գուրգեն Մարգարյան; September 26, 1979 - February 19, 2004) was an Armenian lieutenant who was murdered by fellow student and Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov On February 19, 2004. His body is buried at Yerablur military cemetery.
Education
Margaryan was born in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. He received his secondary education at School No. 122 in Yerevan and subsequently graduated from the State Engineering University of Armenia with a bachelor's degree in engineering. After completing his mandatory military service term, Gurgen Margaryan became an officer in the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia with the rank of lieutenant.
Murder
On January 11, 2004, he left for Budapest to participate in a three-month English language course which was part of the Partnership for Peace NATO-sponsored program. On February 19th he was axed while asleep by a fellow Azerbaijani participant Ramil Safarov. The murder occurred at 5 a.m. in the morning, while the victim was asleep. Gurgen's Hungarian roommate, Balázs Kuti, remembers that on the evening of February 18th Kuti had tea and went to bed, as he had fever, while Gurgen Margaryan kept on studying. Around 9:30 p.m. Margaryan went to visit another program participant from Armenia—Hayk Makuchyan—who was staying in another room.
Kuti does not remember when Gurgen came back, but early in the morning he felt that someone turned on the light. He thought it was Gurgen returning to the room, but after hearing some muffled sounds, he turned his head away from the wall and saw the Azerbaijani officer standing by Gurgen’s bed, with a long axe in his hands:
By that time I understood that something terrible had happened for there was blood all around. I started to shout at the Azerbaijani urging him to stop it. He said that had no problems with me and would not touch me, stabbed Gurgen a couple of more times and left. The expression of his face was as if he was glad he had finished something important.
Armenian Response
Armenia's ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed "its outrage and most vehemently condemns this crime," and stated that it "expects that international organizations will assess this crime appropriately and react. At the same time, we demand that the Hungarian authorities punish the perpetrator to the maximum extent of the law. The Armenian Foreign Ministry expresses its condolences to the family, relatives and colleagues of Lieutenant Gurgen Margarian."
Azeri Response
Many officials in Azerbaijan have both publicly condemned and praised the actions of Ramil Safarov. Zardusht Alizade, an Azeri political scientist, has said that Safarov may be raised to the status of a national hero, if not recognized as someone who had committed a crime, for which he must be punished. Elmira Suleymanova, the human rights commissioner of Azerbaijan, stated that, "Safarov must become an example of patriotism for the Azerbaijani youth." Fuad Agayev, a prominent Azeri lawyer, said that Azeris "have to urgently stop this current campaign to raise Safarov to the rank of national hero. He is no hero.”
See also
References
- Murder of Lt. Gurgen Margaryan. The Budapest Case. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
- Armenian Foreign Ministry. Statement by the Ministry on the Murder of an Armenian Lieutenant in Budapest by an Azerbaijani military officer. February 19, 2004. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
- Responses by Azerbaijanis. The Budapest Case. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
- War and Peace Reporting: Murder Case Judgement Reverberates Around Caucasus
External links
- Budapest Case - on the murder of Lt. Gurgen Margaryan: Safarov's testimony, eye-witness accounts, Armenian and Azerbaijani Responses