So this happened. I wish I could speak to international criminal justice laws, but that remains a large mystery to me. It is suspicious, however, that there was a deal on the table with Azerbaijan and Hungary has been trying to wrangle itself "free" from the EU's political ambit. Oh, and that it has to go through the EU to get IMF money to make their economy more stable.
Though Hungarian politicians seem reluctant to make those conclusions, perhaps there is some merit in considering that Hungary does not see one Azerbaijani murderer as worth the 4 billion euros. If we were to entertain this conspiracy even further (which, why not?), we would have to ask, who put the bargain on the table? I can't imagine Azerbaijan said, "You know, Hungary, if you give us Safarov, we can make this deal rock solid." But I also can't imagine Hungary would put it forward either because it seems a pittance to the money that was on the table. Since Azerbaijan gave Safarov a hero's welcome, I'm thinking the former might be more likely. Again, I'm entertaining a conspiracy theory and not sharing actual facts. An Armenian website I found posited that Hungary was deceived.
Azerbaijan has something to gain by this since it has hated Armenia since possibly forever (approximately). You know something is really, really wrong when Russia and the EU are in the same corner, echoing each other's sentiments. Nagorno-Karabakh is central to the Armenian-Azerbaijani story, so read a shortened version here. However, the close ties being fostered would be a good reason for Hungary to trust Azerbaijan to carry out the sentence. Given the nature of the conflict between the two nations, it was not a particularly wise decision. Since Safarov claimed the killing was a reference to the deeply rooted hatred between the two nations, it seems safe to bet that Azeris are pro killing Armenians and his crime would not seem particularly heinous. The truce in Nagorno-Karabakh is a tense one that requires the hefty weight of Russia behind it. Perhaps Hungary was a bit naive, or perhaps there is something more sinister to the tale.
Hungary is becoming quite infamous these days. I'm not sure I've ever seen Hungary in the news so much! Orbán must believe the adage, "Any publicity is good publicity." Perhaps he should take a look at how that's worked out for others.
UPDATE: Eastern Approaches did a great article with some illuminating links, such as this one. The general consensus is that the whole fiasco was orchestrated and not a duping.
Contemporary Discussion of Eastern Europe In All Its Glory
