POLITICS
Extradition of Azeri lieutenant carried out in accordance with European Convention on Transfer of Sentenced Persons, MP Gerry Sutcliffe
Baku, September 12 (AZERTAC). Extradition of Azeri lieutenant was carried out in accordance with the European Convention on Transfer of Sentenced Persons, Gerry Sutcliffe, British Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament (MP) for Bradford South, said while criticizing Armenians aggressive position on Ramil Safarov’s extradition.
According to the European Azerbaijan Society, Sutcliffe said: “The extradition of Ramil Safarov to Azerbaijani custody and his subsequent pardoning caused a firestorm in the Armenian government, the Armenian Diaspora and its supporters.”
“A number of threats have been made against Azerbaijani diplomats, diplomatic relations with Hungary have been severed, the Armenian President has upped the war rhetoric and Safarov himself has been targeted,” he added.
Remarking that the press and some members of various European parliaments have also been quick to judge, Sutcliff stressed that Armenia itself has released and pardoned a number of its citizens convicted of terrorist attacks over the last 20 years. The background to this case of course is that not a single Armenian, including the current Armenian President, has ever been prosecuted for the killing of thousands of Azerbaijani civilians during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions demanding the withdrawal of Armenian troops form the territories of Azerbaijan. As a part of Armenia’s aggressive policy 20% of Azerbaijani territory was occupied and 900,000 citizens were displaced. The stalemate between the two countries still continues.
Gerry Sutcliffe emphasized that the open sore on Europe’s border cannot be allowed to fester any longer: “Violence and the threat of violence only breed more violence. It is a time for cool heads and statesmanship on all sides. The international community must enlarge its activity to end the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict”.