FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief
========================================== ======
Wednesday 24 September 2008
AZERBAIJAN: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM SURVEY, SEPTEMBER 2008
In its survey analysis of religious freedom in Azerbaijan, Forum 18 News
Service has found continuing violations of freedom of thought, conscience
and belief. The state attempts to control or limit the majority Muslim and
minority religious communities, including imposing strict censorship,
violating its international human rights commitments. The situation in the
Nakhichevan exclave is worse than the rest of the country. Officials often
claim that Azerbaijan is a state of religious tolerance – a view promoted
by government-favoured groups – but the state promotes intolerance of some
minorities and has not introduced the genuine religious freedom necessary
for genuine religious tolerance to flourish. Many officials are convinced
that ethnic Azeris should not be non-Muslims, and act on this conviction.
In practice, many violations of the human rights of both Muslims and
non-Muslims – such as the detention of Baptist prisoner of conscience Hamid
Shabanov and a ban on Muslims praying outside mosques – are based on
unwritten understandings and even violations of the written law.
AZERBAIJAN: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM SURVEY, SEPTEMBER 2008
By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service <;
Ahead of the Universal Periodic Review of Azerbaijan by the United Nations
(UN) Human Rights Council in February 2009, Forum 18 News Service has found
tight official controls over religious communities and unwritten
restrictions on peaceful religious activity.
Azerbaijan’s government appears to be fundamentally hostile to the idea of
freedom of thought, conscience and belief. It seeks to control faiths it
regards as a potential challenge (especially Islam), to limit or co-opt
faiths it sees as useful (Judaism, Russian Orthodoxy, Lutheranism and
Catholicism) and to actively restrict faiths that it dislikes (some
Protestant Christians, Jehovah’s Witnesses). Faiths with a small following
who function unobtrusively, such as Molokans (an early Russian Protestant
group), Georgian Orthodox, Hare Krishna and Baha’is, have mainly tended to
be able to operate without much hostile government attention.
Freedom of thought, conscience and belief acts as a litmus test of the
state of the rule of law and human rights in any society. So violations of
religious freedom are linked with violations of such human rights as
freedom of speech and association, freedom of the media, etc., as well as
with similar violations in other areas of society and politics.
Since 1993, Azerbaijan has been ruled by the Aliev family, first by Heidar
Aliev (President from 1993 to 2003), then by his son Ilham Aliev (President
since 2003). New presidential elections are scheduled for 15 October 2008,
and the authorities are trying to ensure Ilham Aliev’s victory. Despite
massive oil wealth and a booming economy in the capital Baku, much of the
population remains in poverty. Corruption is said by many observers to be
widespread. The long-running dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh,
remains unresolved and is a source of continuing tension, religious
minorities having sometimes been accused of being "Armenian spies."
Much of Azerbaijan’s population of more than 8 million would identify
themselves as Muslim by tradition. Although most of these are of Shia
background, there is also a large Sunni Muslim minority. The state has been
hostile to Muslim scholarship advocating genuine religious freedom, and
seeing pluralist democracy as totally compatible with Islam. All Muslim
communities are compelled by the Religion Law to be under the control of
the state-favoured Caucasian Muslim Board.
Government control of the majority religious community and harassment of
minority communities violates Azerbaijan’s international human rights
commitments, such as those it undertook as a member of the Council of
Europe and participating State in the Organisation for Security and
Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). This appears, from Forum 18’s observation of
officials’ responses, to stem from a fear of social change they cannot
control, and a dislike of pluralism.
The situation in Nakhichevan [Naxçivan], an exclave between Armenia, Iran,
and Turkey separated from the rest of Azerbaijan is considerably worse that
the rest of the country. There has long been a de facto ban on religious
activity by non-Muslim communities in Nakhichevan. Baha’is, a small
Adventist congregation and a Hare Krishna community have been banned. "Of
course our people would like to be able to meet" a Baha’i told Forum 18.
Muslim communities too are under strict control by the Nakhichevan
authorities. "There is no democracy, no free media and no human rights in
Nakhichevan," Professor Ali Abasov of the International Religious Liberty
Association told Forum 18. Asked why, he responded with a grim laugh: "The
authorities don’t want it," insisting that the Nakhichevan authorities are
doing what the authorities in the rest of Azerbaijan would like to do.
Officials often claim that Azerbaijan is a country of religious tolerance
– a view sedulously promoted by government-favoured groups such as the
Russian Orthodox Church, and the Jewish communities (Mountain, Georgian and
Ashkenazi Jewish). At the time of the 2002 visit of Pope John Paul II,
Catholics also promoted this view. Land was subsequent granted in Baku for
a new Catholic church to be built. Orthodoxy’s worldwide leader, Ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomew, repeated the same message during his high-profile
visit in 2003. Social relations between the more visible religious
communities are generally good, but the government – through such devices
as sometimes broadcasting hostile TV film footage after police raids –
promotes intolerance of some minorities.
Azerbaijan has continued many of the Soviet period’s mechanisms of
control, and has not introduced the genuine religious freedom which is an
essential pre-condition for genuine religious tolerance to flourish. Many
officials are therefore convinced that ethnic Azeris should not be
non-Muslims, and act on this conviction.
For example, during an autumn 2007 police raid on a Protestant church in
Sumgait [Sumqayit], north of Baku, some 30 church members were detained.
Police pressured them to renounce their faith, calling in the local imam.
"The imam held up a copy of the Koran and police tried to force church
members to pass underneath it and deny their faith," one Protestant told
Forum 18. It is illegal for police to force individuals to renounce their
faith.
National and local officials of the State Committee for Work with
Religious Organisations have repeatedly alleged that Protestant Christians
and Jehovah’s Witnesses have violated the law by holding "illegal
meetings", and that their communities should be closed down. Such claims
encourage the belief among officials and the public that such groups are a
threat to society.
Unwritten controls
Although the 1992 Religion Law (amended in 1996 and 1997) contains some
restrictions on religious freedoms, most of the controls on free religious
practice are unwritten. Without indications of approval from senior figures
in authority, religious communities cannot be registered. Even though
unregistered activity is not formally illegal, without some indications of
official approval neither registered nor unregistered communities can only
with difficulty undertake visible religious activity. This in practice
prevents them from buying or building places of worship, recovering
religious property confiscated during the Soviet era, holding large-scale
events, running media operations, publishing religious literature or
maintaining religious bookshops.
Police and National Security Ministry (NSM) secret police officers often
prevent religious activity that does not have such "authorisation". A
religious community without links to influential figures can be raided,
harassed and threatened. It can have its property taken away and individual
members beaten and arrested.
For example, Jehovah’s Witnesses have faced repeated harassment with
little legal foundation. Police in the north-western town of Zakatala
[Zaqatala] arrested two Jehovah’s Witnesses in July 2008 for talking about
their faith to neighbours. Police questioned, threatened, insulted and
swore at them, even though they had committed no crime. One was threatened
with being dismissed from her job, even though this would be illegal. The
other was expelled from Azerbaijan under the Code of Administrative
Offences. In March 2008 police had raided the Zakatala home of another
Jehovah’s Witness and confiscated religious literature without a court
order.
Imam Kazim Aliev, who led the only Sunni mosque in Azerbaijan’s second
city Gyanja [Gäncä], was in March 2006 warned "unofficially" by police not
to return to his mosque after being imprisoned, or be arrested. The mosque
community insist that the charges against him of organising an armed
uprising were falisfied. Imam Aliev categorically denied to Forum 18 the
official claims. "How can three people organise an uprising? All our group
did was to discuss Islam." He noted sadly to Forum 18 that he has given up
trying to return to his old mosque as he knows "one hundred percent" that
if he returned he would be sent back to prison.
Azerbaijani law does not ban religious activity in private homes, although
state officials generally believe that it does. Nine Jehovah’s Witness men
detained at a religious meeting in a private home in Baku in June 2008 were
told by police the meeting was "illegal". Officers beat and threatened them
with rape.
Protestants too – including Baptists and Seventh-day Adventists – have
faced repeated raids and fines. Police raided Adventist congregations in
December 2007 in Baku and in Gyanja. The pastor in Gyanja was threatened
with prison, if he refused to ban children from attending worship services
and did not halt worship in two church-owned properties.
Baptist communities in the mainly Georgian-speaking village of Aliabad
near Zakatala have faced perhaps the greatest pressure in recent months.
After years of harassment, threats, destruction of property, confiscation
of religious literature and denial of state registration, Pastor Zaur
Balaev was arrested by police in May 2007. He was accused of physically
assaulting five police officers, a charge his congregation insists was
fabricated by police. Despite serious illegalities in the court
proceedings, including prosecution witnesses openly admitting that police
told them what to say, Balaev was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. He
was freed in March 2008. In June 2008, Balaev’s fellow pastor Hamid
Shabanov was arrested on charges of possessing a gun illegally. The
congregation insists this charge too is equally fabricated. Shabanov’s
trial has begun, but a judge sent the case back to investigators in July
2008 for further work. Yet again, there have been serious illegalities in
the court proceedings.
Said Dadashbeyli, a Muslim from Baku, founded an Islamic group called Nima
in 2005. His family say he promoted a "European style of Islam", mutual
respect and unity between Shias and Sunnis, and rejected fundamentalism. He
received a 14-year sentence at a closed trial in December 2007. His lawyer
and family insist that he and eight of the 15 people sentenced with him are
innocent of the terrorism-related charges levelled against them. His appeal
to Azerbaijan’s Supreme Court was rejected in September 2008.
Religious communities without approval – formal or informal – from senior
figures in authority do not enjoy security of property ownership. In August
2008 a Baku-based Protestant church, Cathedral of Praise, which claims 800
adult members, had its place of worship confiscated. The church bought the
land and building legally in 2004, but a private company claimed that the
church had not not done so legally. No compensation is being offered. The
Church is uncertain whether the action was based on hostility to religious
freedom, but points out that its property rights have been violated. It was
founded in 1994 but only managed to gain registration in 1999. Its Swedish
pastor had his visa application denied in 2005 and was given two weeks to
leave Azerbaijan. He was subsequently blacklisted from returning to the
country.
Communities without strong official approval of some kind cannot regain
property confiscated during the Soviet era. Baku’s Baptist community has
long sought to regain a century-old church in the city centre, Baku’s
former Ashkenazi synagogue has not been returned, and Baku’s Baha’i
community would like to regain a building important to the history of their
faith.
Similarly, such communities cannot invite foreigners for religious work.
In contrast, this has been permitted for Catholics, Jews, Lutherans,
Russian Orthodox, the one permitted Georgian Orthodox parish and the one
permitted English-language Protestant congregation.
In north-west Azerbaijan, children given Christian (or Georgian) and not
Muslim first names by their parents in Aliabad, Zakatala Region, have been
denied birth certificates by officials. They have no formal power to deny
Christian parents such choices of name, and without a birth certificate a
child cannot go to kindergarten or to school, get treatment in a hospital,
or travel abroad.
Officials have also interfered in individuals’ appearance and dress,
especially when it appears to demonstrate their religious affiliation. In
August 2008, according to the imam of Baku’s Abu-Bekr mosque, police at two
Baku police stations forcibly shaved off the beards of 20 men from the
congregation. Muslim women have at times faced obstructions working in
official institutions while wearing headscarves.
Registration obstructions
The main instrument of formal written control is official registration:
without it, individual religious communities cannot act as a body,
including owning or renting property, or holding bank accounts. Although
the Religion Law does not make registration compulsory, government
officials at all levels often act as though it does. Police and local
authorities have raided many religious communities that have chosen not to
register or have tried to register but have been refused.
The State Committee for Work with Religious Organisations, which has
overseen the registration process since it was established in 2001, has a
wide range of techniques for dealing with registration applications it
regards as unwelcome: it pressures religious communities to withdraw those
applications, ignores them, returns them repeatedly for "corrections" of
"errors" or rejects them.
Indeed, as registration applications need prior approval from local
authorities before they even reach the committee, the scope for unpopular
religious communities to be barred from registering is wide. An example is
the actions of the State Notary in Aliabad. She has for many years refused,
with no legal basis, to notarise the signatures of the ten founders of the
local Baptist congregation. The State Committee registration regulations
also require a certificate from the employer of each of the ten founders,
without specifying why this is needed, what it should contain and what
happens for founders who are not in employment. Founders must also provide
a certificate from a headquarters body setting out the "need" for such a
community, making it technically impossible to found an independent
religious community.
2,000 religious communities are thought to function in some form, of which
406 had registration with the Ministry of Justice before the State
Committee was set up in 2001. In September 2008 the State Committee
reported that 480 Muslim and 32 non-Muslim religious communities are
registered. There is no means of reliably and independently verifying these
figures.
Amongst those known to have been denied registration either at local or
national level are: independent mosques; Baptist communities in Aliabad and
the south-eastern town of Neftechala (at the mouth of the river Kura);
Adventists in Nakhichevan; the Greater Grace Protestant church in Ismaili
south of Quba; an independent Lutheran congregation in Baku; as well as a
variety of Protestant churches in Sumgait. The authorities particularly
dislike Protestant churches that attract a mainly ethnic Azeri membership.
The former head of the State Committee, Rafik Aliev, had Baku’s
Azeri-language Baptist church closed down by court order in 2002 after
alleging that the pastor, Sari Mirzoyev, had insulted Islam. Mirzoyev was
"banned" from preaching and subjected to a harsh media campaign.
Religious communities denied registration have the possibility of
challenging the denial through the courts. However, most prefer not to take
that step, fearing that corruption in the court system and the closeness of
the judicial system to the government will prevent a fair verdict. When the
Baku Baptist community challenged its court-ordered liquidation, it failed
to have the liquidation order overturned. Communities denied registration
also fear that if they make waves they will only attract further
"punishment", such as police visits.
The denial of registration to religious communities the government does
not like also extends to religious-related groups. The local branch of the
International Religious Liberty Association, founded with interfaith
backing in 2002, applied for registration with the Justice Ministry but
received no answer. The Devamm group led by Ilgar Ibrahimoglu Allahverdiev,
which campaigns for Muslims’ rights, failed to gain registration. This was
despite a court ruling in its favour.
Lack of openness in religious policy formulation and enactment
Officials have for some years hinted that the Religion Law needs revision,
but the State Committee told Forum 18 categorically in May 2008 that there
will be no new Law. Many religious believers of a variety of faiths have
called for removal of restrictions from it. No open public discussion on
whether a new Law should or should not be presented to the Milli Mejlis
(the parliament) has taken place.
The State Committee, like many government agencies, acts mainly behind
closed doors, releasing little information about how it reaches decisions.
Its website dqdk.gov.az does not appear to have been updated since
September 2007. Consultation hours for religious communities and members of
the public at its Baku headquarters have been sharply reduced since Hidayat
Orujev was appointed to lead it in July 2006.
Communities have little opportunity to challenge the time taken to decide
on registration applications, or how the State Committee decides which
documents to challenge. Symptomatic of this lack of transparency is the
State Committee’s refusal to allow itself to respond to questioning by
independent groups. Its officials try to avoid answering questions about
specific religious freedom violations.
The State Committee’s in practice unlimited powers allow it to make
decisions based on questionable legal foundations. In late August 2008,
nearly two weeks after a fatal bomb attack at Baku’s Abu-Bekr mosque, the
State Committee banned worshippers from praying outside near mosques when
they are full. The ban was communicated through the mass media only after
police prevented worshippers from praying outside several Baku mosques. The
State Committee claimed the "temporary" ban – which it said extended across
the entire country – was to protect worshippers.
State intrusion into religious communities’ affairs
Protestant and Jehovah’s Witness communities have been subjected to police
raids, beating and harassment of individual members and denial of
registration. However, it is the Muslim community that faces the greatest
state meddling. The government doubtless fears that it might become a
source of opposition, with the power to mobilise large numbers of people.
Articles 8 and 9 of the Religion Law require all Muslim communities to be
part of the state-sanctioned Caucasian Muslim Board, led by Sheikh-ul-Islam
Allahshukur Pashazade, despite claims that the state does not interfere in
the internal activity of religious organisations. Independent mosques,
which dislike the control imposed by the Caucasian Muslim Board, have faced
government pressure and interference. Imams the authorities do not like
have been removed. In June 2004 police ousted the community led by its
imam, Ilgar Ibrahimoglu, from the Juma (Friday) Mosque in Baku’s Old City.
The State Committee takes part in drawing up and enacting "attestation
tests" for imams, a clear violation of the autonomy of religious
communities. In 2007 it issued a book for imams on Friday sermons, with
"recommendations" on what they should cover.
The State Committee has always interpreted provisions in Articles 8 and 9
of the Religion Law allowing non-Muslim communities to be governed by a
headquarters based abroad as a requirement. It therefore refuses to
register locally-based religious minority communities. This adds to the
popular perception that religious minorities are "foreign".
Religious censorship
Censorship of religious literature – which existed during the Soviet
period – was continued in the 1992 Religion Law and its subsequent amended
versions. Azeri diplomats have denied that such censorship exists. The Law
requires permission from the State Committee before a religious community
or individual can publish, import or distribute any religious literature,
in clear violation of Azerbaijan’s commitments to freedom of speech.
Article 9.2 of the July 2001 regulation covering the duties of the State
Committee clearly spells out its censorship tasks: "Take control of the
production, import and distribution of religious literature, items, other
religious informational materials and give its consent on the bases of the
appeals of the religious institutions and relevant state bodies in
accordance with the established procedure."
Only registered religious centres can apparently establish religious
publishing houses – and all literature they produce must be subjected to
prior censorship. The State Committee also insists that the number of
copies of each work to be imported or printed locally must also be
approved. A special Expertise Department of the State Committee oversees
this censorship. The State Committee has denied that the compulsory prior
approval required for all religious literature is censorship. Asked by
Forum 18 how he would describe it, an official stated that the Committee
"merely checks" to see which books were "not appropriate" for distribution
and maintains a list of "banned" religious literature. This list is not
published.
Religious literature sent by post is often blocked. All incoming parcels
are sent to the International Post Office in Baku, regardless of where the
intended recipient lives in Azerbaijan. Wherever they live in the country
(which has a land area of 86,600 km² or 33,436 miles²), the intended
recipient has to – in person – go to the International Post Office in Baku.
They then have to collect one copy of each title posted to them and – in
person – take it to the State Committee. When and if the State Committee
grants or withholds permission to receive the title, the intended recipient
then has to – in person – collect a letter from the State Committee and
take it back to the International Post Office. If the State Committee has
granted permission, the intended recipient will at last receive the
literature they have been sent. Religious minorities have complained of the
extraordinary effort needed to try to extract even a handful of books that
should rightfully be theirs, which often ends in failure. This has forced
some religious minorities to ask friends abroad not to send them
literature.
Police also confiscate religious literature during raids. Baptist pastor
Hamid Shabanov in the northern village of Aliabad had Christian Bibles and
books in Georgian and Azeri confiscated in a police raid in June 2008.
Religious literature was also confiscated by police in nearby Zakatala
three months earlier from Jehovah’s Witness Matanat Gurbanova. In both
cases, police said the literature was "illegal".
Numerous Azeri believers of all faiths – including Muslims, Protestants
and others – have seen religious literature confiscated at customs. In
their travel advice for their own citizens, some countries – such as
Australia and the USA – warn visitors to Azerbaijan that "customs
authorities may enforce strict regulations" on bringing in religious
literature.
Conscientious objection to military service punished
Military service is compulsory for all healthy young men. Azerbaijan
offers no civilian alternative to those who cannot serve in the military on
grounds of conscience. In General Comment 22 on Article 18 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the UN Human Rights
Committee has stated that conscientious objection to military service is a
legitimate part of everyone’s right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion.
When Azerbaijan joined the Council of Europe in 2001, it pledged to
introduce alternative civilian service by January 2003, but it has not done
so. Article 76 of Azerbaijan’s Constitution provides that "if beliefs of
citizens come into conflict with service in the army then in some cases
envisaged by legislation alternative service instead of regular army
service is permitted". Despite the Constitutional provision and the Council
of Europe commitments, officials at Azerbaijan’s Human Rights Ombudsman
Office told Forum 18 in 2006 that "signing such commitments doesn’t mean we
have to accept these rights without a corresponding law". A draft Law
introducing an alternative service has been prepared but has not been sent
to the Milli Mejlis.
Conscientious objectors to military service are punished under Article
321.1 of the Criminal Code: "Evasion without lawful grounds from a call to
military service or from mobilisation, with the purpose of evading military
service, is punishable by imprisonment for up to two years."
Jehovah’s Witness Samir Huseynov was insulted at the Military Conscription
Office, when he declared he could not serve in the armed forces because of
his faith. He was imprisoned for 10 months in October 2007 under Article
321.1. He was freed in May 2008, even though his appeal failed, and has
been left with a criminal record. In July 2006, conscientious objector
Mushfiq Mammedov, who was studying to become a Jehovah’s Witness, was found
guilty of violating Article 321.1. He was given a suspended sentence of six
months. In summer 2008, prosecutors sought to prosecute him for a second
time on charges of evading military service, although the Constitution and
the Criminal Code ban charging people a second time for the same offence.
Restricted religious freedom for foreigners
Foreign citizens are in international law entitled to religious freedom
within the country. Although there is no specific legal provision that bans
foreign citizens from leading religious organisations, the Religion Law
describes religious communities as "voluntary organisations of adult
citizens" and the State Committee insists that foreigners cannot lead them.
In defiance of Azerbaijan’s international human rights commitments,
Article 1 of the country’s Religion Law, as well as Article 18 of the 1996
Law on the Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons states:
"Foreigners and stateless persons have freedom of conscience equal to that
of citizens of the Azerbaijani Republic. Foreigners and stateless persons
are forbidden to carry out religious propaganda." Article 300 of the Code
of Administrative Offences punishes those who "carry out religious
propaganda" with fines of up to 25 times the minimum monthly wage and/or
deportation.
In August 2008, Imamzade Mamedova, an Azeri holding a Russian passport,
became the ninth foreign Jehovah’s Witness to be deported under this
Article since December 2006.
What changes do Azerbaijani citizens want in religious policy?
Religious believers of a variety of faiths have told Forum 18 that they
want to see Azerbaijan:
– stop attempting to control all peaceful religious activity, including
abolishing all formal legal and informal unwritten barriers to freedom of
thought, conscience and belief;
– establish full freedom of thought, conscience and belief in the
Nakhichevan exclave;
– stop officials making statements attacking religious minorities;
– end police and NSM secret police raids on religious meetings, whether in
private homes or elsewhere;
– end interrogations and fines of peaceful religious believers;
– end the imprisonment of religious believers for peacefully practising
their faith;
– end obstructions to building, buying or opening places of worship;
– return confiscated religious property;
– register all religious communities and religious-related organisations
that wish to apply for registration;
– stop interfering in the internal affairs of religious communities;
– allow believers to publish, import and distribute religious literature
freely, without state censorship including postal censorship;
– introduce a genuinely civilian alternative to military service;
– allow foreigners legally resident in Azerbaijan the religious freedom
international law grants them
– and bring to legal accountability those responsible for attacking
individuals’ religious freedom. (END)
For a personal commentary, by an Azeri Protestant, on how the
international community can help establish religious freedom in Azerbaijan,
see < 482>.
More coverage of freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Azerbaijan
is at <; religion=all&country=23>.
The previous Forum 18 Azerbaijan religious freedom survey can be found at
< id’>.
A survey of the religious freedom decline in the eastern part of the
Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) area is at
< id=806>.
A printer-friendly map of Azerbaijan is available at
< s/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=azerba& gt;.
(END)
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