Former Armenian ombudsman slams government silence over Safarov promotion

Armenia’s former human rights defender, Arman Tatoyan, criticized Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the government for a lack of response to the reported promotion of Ramil Safarov, an Azerbaijani army officer convicted of killing an Armenian officer in 2004.

In a video posted on Facebook on Wednesday, Tatoyan said Armenian authorities had remained silent for days after reports of Safarov's promotion to the rank of colonel, calling the lack of official protest “an insult to the Armenian state and the Armenian people.”

Safarov, an Azerbaijani army officer convicted of the 2004 axe murder of Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan during a NATO-sponsored training course in Hungary, was later transferred to Azerbaijan, where he was pardoned and celebrated. He was reportedly promoted this month.

Tatoyan contrasted the government’s silence with Pashinyan’s recent visit to Russia, where the prime minister publicly thanked and praised Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Tatoyan said the remarks were linked to the exports of Azerbaijan fuel to Armenia, as well as the delivery of grain via its territory.

“Ramil Safarov receives a new rank, while we receive two canisters of petrol and the Armenian prime minister’s gratitude to the Azerbaijani president,” Tatoyan said in the video, questioning the government’s understanding of peace and leadership.

He also accused Pashinyan of disregarding Armenian war dead and their families by failing to raise the issue publicly or defend their rights. Tatoyan posed a rhetorical question about whether this was the “peace” the government claims to have delivered.

“A real leader must act so that no one dares to harm his country’s citizens,” Tatoyan said. “And if harm is done, the perpetrator must know that justice and punishment will follow wherever they are in the world.”