U.S. Department of State included Karabakh in Azerbaijan 2007 report on international religious freedom

PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. Department of State included a chapter on Karabakh in the Azerbaijan 2007 report on international religious freedom.



The document indicates that the Armenian Apostolic Church enjoyed a special status in the Nagorno Karabakh region.



"The largely Muslim, ethnic Azerbaijani population in Nagorno Karabakh and the seven occupied territories had fled the region during the conflict with Armenia in the 1990s and remained unable to return to these areas," the report says.



"During the reporting period, in the region of Nagorno Karabakh - a predominantly ethnic Armenian area over which the Government of Azerbaijan had no control - officials reportedly released jailed Baptist conscientious objector Gagik Mirzoyan and transferred him to a military unit to complete the remainder of his military service.



Also, Jehovah's Witness and conscientious objector Areg Hovhanesyan remained in jail after being sentenced in 2005 to 4 years in prison for evading military service, a sentence he did not appeal," the report says.



Meanwhile, the report on Armenia doesn't contain a single word about Nagorno Karabakh.