BUDAPEST — Several thousand Hungarians protested in Budapest on Tuesday against their government’s decision to allow convicted Azeri killer Ramil Safarov to return home, leading to heightened tensions between Armenian and Azerbaijan.
The Hungarian government claims that it repatriated Safarov after receiving official Azerbaijani assurances that the military officer will serve the rest of his life sentence in an Azerbaijani prison.
Protesters chanting “We are sorry, Armenia” said they doubted the government’s motives, adding that whatever the reasons, the decision was unacceptable.
“Murderers should not be extradited to countries where it is clear that ethnic hate crimes are considered heroism,” said protester Laszlo Muhari, 30. “In a democratic country this is not acceptable.”
“(Prime Minister Viktor) Orban should stop lying and start giving clear answers, because it is simply impossible that such a brutal killer is just released without a background deal.”
