CONVICTION OF ARMY OFFICER IN HUNGARY SPARKS SMALL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 000631

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2016
TAGS: PHUM KDEM PGOV PREL PBTS ASEC AM AJ
SUBJECT: CONVICTION OF ARMY OFFICER IN HUNGARY SPARKS SMALL
PROTESTS


Classified By: CDA JASON HYLAND FOR REASONS 1.4 B AND D.


1. (C) SUMMARY: In a case closely followed by many
Azerbaijanis, on April 13 a Hungarian court convicted Army
Lieutenant Ramil Safarov to life imprisonment for the
February 2004 murder of an Armenian officer during a NATO
Partnership for Peace (PfP) exercise. Azerbaijani media has
followed every step of the case, including the independent
ANS television station, which broadcasted from Budapest
during the final days of the trial. The conviction sparked
small protests in Azerbaijan, which were organized by the
Karabakh Liberation Organization and opposition youth
movements. While few GOAJ officials have commented on the
case, the Prosecutor General's office has already announced
its intention to seek extradition and the Parliament's Human
Rights Commission intends to investigate the case. The
strong feelings aroused by this case -- particularly as
magnified by the media -- illustrate once again the
difficulties the GOAJ will face in presenting a negotiated
solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. END SUMMARY.

CRIME OF "UNUSUAL CRUELTY"
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2. (U) In February 2004, Army Lieutenant Ramil Safarov, a
bright 28-year old IDP originally from Jabrail who lost a
number of relatives in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, was
selected to attend a NATO PfP English-language course in
Budapest. According to reports from the Budapest police and
eye witnesses, Safarov hacked to death his Armenian
counterpart with an ax and a knife, displaying "unusual
cruelty," as the Armenian officer slept in his bed. At the
time, Azerbaijani officials claimed the incident was provoked
by the Armenian officer's taunting of Safarov; Armenian
officials said the responsibility laid with bellicose
propaganda from the GOAJ. On April 13, 2006, a Budapest
court found Safarov guilty of the crime and sentenced him to
life imprisonment with possibility for parole only after 30
years, the harshest sentence possible in Hungarian courts.
The case is under appeal in Hungary.

SOCIETY INDIGNANT OVER "UNJUST" VERDICT
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3. (C) Following the media coverage of the verdict, small
protests have popped up both in Baku and in the regions,
mostly in districts heavily populated by IDPs. While the
regional protests have been relatively small and
unobstructed, protests in Baku appear to have drawn several
hundred participants each. Most of these have started at
universities, seemingly organized by student groups and youth
opposition groups. While responsibility for the protests has
been difficult to nail down, we have heard that the main
organizers have been students at Baku State University, the
"Dalga" opposition youth movement, the youth wing of the
Karabakh Liberation Organization (KLO),and possibly some of
the younger member of the Popular Front Party (PFP). The
main organization of the KLO, headed by Akif Nagi, has been
responsible for the more general protests throughout Baku.


4. (SBU) Police have exercised judicious restraint in
dispersing the Baku rallies. Opposition newspapers have run
a couple of pictures of youth with bloody heads, but the TV
coverage we have seen has been fairly mild. Police generally
let the protest advance a reasonable distance before regular,
blue-shirted police pushed protesters to urge them to go
home. We have yet to hear that police in riot gear have been
involved in disrupting the rallies, all of which have been
unsanctioned. During protests on April 14, Nagi and a fellow
KLO member were arrested for resisting police. Some students
were also detained over the course of the demonstrations;
however, all appear to be have been released shortly
afterwards.

EXPLOITING EMOTIONS?
--------------


5. (C) While protesters have chanted the expected "Free
Safarov" and "Shame on Hungarian Justice," protests in Baku
also have centered on criticism that the GOAJ did not give
Safarov sufficient support to return a "not guilty" verdict.
This criticism started in public statements made by
opposition groups immediately after the announcement of the
verdict, may have broader resonance. The ruling Azerbaijani
elite has been uncharacteristically silent on the matter.
The only official statements have been made by the Prosecutor
General and the Minister of Justice, announcing they will
seek extradition of Safarov following completion of the
appeals process. (According to international conventions,

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the GOAJ would not be able to commute Safarov's sentence.)


6. (C) As with most events connected to the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, emotions are running high in Azerbaijan over the
verdict and the sentence, even among those who have not
turned to the streets in protest. The role of the news
media, particularly ANS TV, has been very unhelpful: Much of
the media coverage has contained the sentiment that Safarov
was at best excused, at worst justified in his actions
because of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Scant if any
references to his confession or the details of his crime
appear in Azerbaijani press. Instead, coverage focuses on
Safarov's family circumstances (according to some media
reports, 14 of his relatives were killed during the conflict)
and the alleged Armenian taunting. A website created to
publicize Safarov's plight, written in English and Russian,
has quotes from Safarov justifying his actions and details
some 80-year old cases where Armenians were found not guilty
of killing Turkish and Azerbaijani officials.


7. (C) Most of the fuel to this fire has been added by the
Azerbaijani media and staged protests. Nightly television
propaganda has remained overtly nationalistic, indignant at
the injustice done to a man who was "clearly provoked" by
Armenian taunting. Additionally, according to one political
observer who himself is an IDP, students at Baku State
University and other institutions have been happy to skip
class in order to partake in the protests. Some of the rally
footage, which shows aggressive youth along side students who
appear to be simply joining along, seems to support this
hypothesis. The political observer with whom Poloff spoke
surmised that the frenzy has been whipped up by elements in
the GOAJ in order to show that public opinion overwhelmingly
is against compromise and any action that would appear to
vindicate Armenians over Azerbaijanis. The observer -- a
lawyer who followed the case -- commented that the sentence
was justifiable given the facts of the case, regardless of
whether the victim was Armenian or not. However, he said in
the face of slanted media coverage and few attempts to inject
reason into the debate, it has been difficult even for him to
convince colleagues and friends to look at the case without
nationalistic emotion.

COMMENT
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8. (C) The past week's events have signaled yet again the
extent to which the Azerbaijani public is ill-prepared for a
negotiated solution to the conflict. We will continue to
push GOAJ officials to begin educating their citizens on the
need for compromise and reconciliation if there is going to
be a negotiated and just peace, but this message remains a
difficult sell.
HYLAND