Justice Ministry: Ramil Safarov can be handed over to Azerbaijan

As APA reports, Mr.Gurbanov said that the lawyers had appealed to the Hungary's Court of Appeal to commute the life sentence on Ramil Safarov.

"Ramil Safarov can be extradited to Azerbaijan after the decision of the Court of Appeal. If the appeal against the verdict is dismissed, the lawyers will refer to the Court of Cassation. After that, measures can be taken to extradite him," the Justice Ministry official said.

Gurbanov also said that the severe punishment on Safarov does not pose any obstacles to his extradition to Azerbaijan. Both Azerbaijan and Hungary joined the relevant international Convention.

"There is not any item in the Convention that a life-term prisoner or a sentenced with a 30-year minimum term before any parole hearings cannot be handed over to his home country," he said.

"The international convention adopted by the Council of Europe in 1983 contains an item on handover of a prisoner to his home country for imprisonment. According to this item, a foreign imprisoned person has the right to be in prison in his home country," he added.

Legal representative of Safarov's family, lawyer Adil Ismayilov, who is in Budapest now, said with this verdict Safarov could not be handed over to Azerbaijan. The lawyer told APA that Safarov's handover was possible only if the life sentence and the 30-year minimum term before any parole hearings are annulled.

"Appeal will be filed against the verdict. We expect for the decision of the Court of Appeal now," Ismayilov said.