BAKU: Police Disperse Rally Protesting Hungarian Sentence on Officer

Azeri police disperse rally protesting at Hungarian sentence on officer

ANS TV, Baku
14 Apr 06

The Azerbaijani police have broken up a rally in Baku in protest
against the life sentence handed down by the Hungarian court on
Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov, the Azerbaijani private TV channel
ANS reported on 14 April. Safarov was charged with killing Armenian
officer Gurgen Markaryan during a NATO course in Budapest in February
2004.

In remarks to ANS TV on 14 April, the chairman of the Karabakh
Liberation Organization, Akif Nagi, who was among the protesters,
said: “Our position is that an injustice has been done to Ramil
Safarov, Azerbaijani citizen. Armenians bought the Hungarian court
with money. We demand that the unfair sentence handed down on Ramil
Safarov be changed. We will continue our protests.”

Police officer Sarvar Huseynov told the TV that “the police must
prevent any illegal protest. If they had permission, we would
guarantee their security”.

Protesters gathered in central Baku on the morning of 14 April,
demanding the repeal of the sentence and chanting freedom to
Safarov. However, they met with resistance from the police. Akif Nagi
and another person were detained.