Azerbaijan sentences 13 Armenian soldiers to prison

They were among more than 60 Armenian servicemen who were arrested in December, about a month after the end of a six-week war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The convicted soldiers and the others were arrested in Hadrut, a part of Nagorno-Karabakh that is now under Azerbaijans control.

A court in Azerbaijan on Friday sentenced 13 Armenian soldiers to six years in prison on convictions of terrorism and illegally entering the country. They were among more than 60 Armenian servicemen who were arrested in December, about a month after the end of a six-week war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. That region and surrounding territories in Azerbaijan had been under Armenian control since the 1994 end of a separatist war.

Last year's war, in which about 6,000 people were killed, saw Azerbaijan take control of much of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent territories. A Russia-brokered treaty obliged Armenia to cede control of the territories and left Azerbaijan holding large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh. The convicted soldiers and the others were arrested in Hadrut, a part of Nagorno-Karabakh that is now under Azerbaijan's control. Some of those arrested in December were returned to Armenia in exchange for maps of minefields, while others still face trial.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)