RAMIL SAFAROV: ANAR ALIYEV DID NOT SPEND THE LAST NIGHT IN THE ROOM WITH ME
By Ruzan Poghosian

AZG Armenian Daily #183
12/10/2005

Trial in Budapest

Nazeli Vardanian, lawyer of murdered Gurgen Margarian, and Hayk
Demoyan, historian of the Armenian armed forces, told about the
September 15 court session at the Budapest court yesterday.

The lawyer said that the Armenian side’s plea to view the case
as a genocidal act and not as a homicide met the Azeri lawyer’s
objection. The court remained silent. “We tried to make one more plea
though we had no hope that anyone can be charged with such a crime
in present-day Europe”, Vardanian said.

The court disclosed that the Latvian serviceman will not take part
in the sessions any more; his whereabouts are unknown. The court
proceeded from his previous affidavit that basically coincided with
that of Hayk Manucharian.

The latter was exposed to psychological pressure during the session,
in particular, he was asked several times if Safarov “was insane
at that moment”. “I think it’s clear to the court that there is no
contradiction in Hayk Manucharian’s words, there is no doubt also as
to his and Safarov’s sanity”, the lawyer said.

Hayk Demoyan added that Safarov was so deeply moved that his speech
at the session turned into a curious thing. To reject that the crime
was planned he said: “Anar Aliyev did not spend the last night in
the room with me” but the judge retorted saying: “To plan murder
with him you did not need necessarily sleep with him”. The defendant
refused to answer any question as soon as asked about buying an axe
for the murder.

Anar Aliyev did not take part in this session either. The Azeris
promised to the angry judge to bring him to the next session. The
Armenian side made a plea to recognize him as an accomplice that
was also turned down. The forensic experts stated at the end of the
session that Safarov was completely healthy and committed the crime
in his right mind. The second expert pointed out to Safarov’s stories
and dreams considering him partially guilty. Inconsistencies in the
two conclusions of the experts made the judge plea for the third
one. “The first expert simply bore down the second one.

The second expert claimed that Ramil Safarov used Xenex, a medicine
against nervous shock, during army service in Turkey. The first expert
rebuffed that lie at once claiming that there was no such medicine
at that time. Though the second expert tried hard to find ways of
justifying Safarov, his diffidence was obvious”, Demoyan said.

Nazeli Vardanian is sure that the court could easily accept the first
expert’s conclusion and reach a verdict but it chose a third medical
examination that would compare the previous ones. “If there is no
pressure from the Azeri side, I think that inconsistencies will show
up and we’ll hear the last medical conclusion in December”.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress