five russian soldiers sentenced to death in azerbaijan may five russian soldiers sentenced to death in azerbaijan moscow upi five soldiers who served in russia s th army stationed in armenia were sentenced to death in the azerbaijani capital baku thursday for allegedly carrying out diversions and killing azeri soldiers a statement released by the news service of azeri president abulfaz elchibey said the sentence was final and was not subject to protest or appeal the russian state news agency itar tass reported but the russian foreign ministry issued an appeal for the men to be handed over to the authorities in moscow for punishment this would accord with modern standards of humanity towards those who have committed crimes the statement reads the five men together with another soldier who received a year prison sentence were captured in september by azeri police in the kelbadzhar district of azerbaijan between nagorno karabakh and armenia the supreme court in baku said the men had gone through special training in a company of the russian th army in the armenian capital yerevan after which they were sent across the armenian azeri border into nagorno karabakh to carry out diversions against azeri troops however the russian foreign ministry statement claimed they had deserted the russian army and were fighting as mercenaries with armenian armed forces in the battle zone round karabakh nagorno karabakh is an armenian populated enclave within azerbaijan which for five years has been fighting for independence from baku in a war that has left many thousands dead and uprooted hundreds of thousands from their homes both yerevan and baku have always claimed that russian servicemen stationed in these caucasian republics who were left behind after the break up of the soviet union are fighting as mercenaries in the karabakh war the statement from moscow said the russian side repeatedly appealed to the azerbaijani government to show humanity and leniency in their treatment of the six men and to hand them over to the russian authorities it said that president boris yeltsin himself sent a letter with this request to his azeri counterpart elchibey itar tass said that the soldiers defense attorneys had lodged an appeal for clemency david davidian dbd urartu sdpa org armenia has not learned a lesson in s d p a center for regional studies anatolia and has forgotten the p o box punishment inflicted on it cambridge ma late turkish president turgut ozal
