Associated Press Worldstream
September 22, 2004 Wednesday 1:26 PM Eastern Time

Azerbaijan’s appeals court freed jailed Nagorno-Karabakh activists

BAKU, Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan’s appeals court freed six Nagorno-Karabakh activists
Wednesday, after reducing their sentences for public disorder in
protesting at a NATO forum earlier this year.

The activists, originally sentenced to 3-5 years in prison, received
suspended sentences on the charges, which also included hooliganism
and resisting officers.

All were members of the Organization of Karabakh Freedom, which calls
for the ethnic-Armenian enclave to be returned to Azerbaijan.

Armenian-backed forces won control of Nagorno-Karabakh after a
1988-94 war. More than 30,000 people were killed and a million driven
from their homes during the conflict.

Despite a 1994 cease-fire, the two countries continue to face off
across a heavily fortified no man’s land, and no final settlement has
been reached.

In June, the six activists, including the organization’s leader Akif
Nagi, pushed through police cordons, broke glass doors and stormed
into a conference hall, where a NATO forum was being held. They were
protesting the involvement of two Armenian officers in the event.

This month, Azerbaijani authorities refused to issue Armenian
officers visas to attend NATO’s “Cooperative Best Effort-2004”
exercises due to be held in Baku, prompting the military alliance to
cancel the event.