(AFP) - An Azeri court on Wednesday handed down jail sentences to 21 men found guilty of trying to set up a guerrilla movement with the aim of wresting Nagorno Karabakh from Armenian control.
The group's leader, Rovshan Badalov, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on charges of creating an illegal armed group and purchasing and carrying weapons, according to an AFP correspondent. Five others, all of them Azeri nationals, were handed suspended sentences ranging from two to four years. All five were allowed to walk free at the end of the trial.
Several Azeri non-governmental organisations had urged Baku to release the men, describing them as "fighters for the country's sovereignty."
The group's leader, Rovshan Badalov, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on charges of creating an illegal armed group and purchasing and carrying weapons, according to an AFP correspondent. Five others, all of them Azeri nationals, were handed suspended sentences ranging from two to four years. All five were allowed to walk free at the end of the trial.
Several Azeri non-governmental organisations had urged Baku to release the men, describing them as "fighters for the country's sovereignty."