Lawyer accuses Hungarian TV of biased coverage of Azeri officer’s case

ANS TV, Baku
19 May 04

[Presenter] Lawyer Adil Ismayilov, who visited Budapest between 3-17
May, today informed journalists of the investigation into the case
of Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov, who is charged with killing
Armenian officer Gurgen Markaryan [both were attending NATO courses
in Budapest].

[Correspondent, over video of news conference] Adil Ismayilov met Ramil
thrice during his visit to Budapest. The lawyer said that each meeting
had lasted for about an hour. He said that the Azerbaijani officer was
feeling better and had no complaints about the conditions in which
he was being held. However, Adil Ismayilov found some faults in the
course of the investigation. He said that Ramil had been questioned
in Russian twice. But our compatriot does not speak good Russian. For
this reason, he had to ask for an interpreter. The Hungarian side
promised to resolve the issue soon. In addition, Ismayilov said the
investigation was being delayed and only 10 people had been questioned
as witnesses and three forensic examinations had been carried out.

[Passage omitted: reported details]

It turned out during the news conference that Ismayilov had not been
allowed to closely familiarize himself with the case. The lawyer
also noted that Hungarian TV channels concentrated largely on the
incident and their positions were fairly biased. The TV channels
distort investigation materials, which no-one actually knows about,
Adil Ismayilov said.

The investigation is to end in the near future. The [Hungarian]
prosecutor’s office will examine the case after this. Ismayilov thinks
that the trial will open no sooner than in September. The hearings
will be open to the public.

Rasad Mammadov, Sadiq Mammadov, ANS.