FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.forum18.org_&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=qVGBaWpku0GaX6uPoR2zpFHuMdKb8JqwYWq7C6esR70&s=EnOVcb49Guc35u0uAHTxBIj6jm8IiW7TRKj9gXrkelc&e=
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
=================================================
Friday
AZERBAIJAN: Appeals fail against illegal raids, fines
Baptist Pastor from Aliabad Hamid Shabanov has failed to overturn a fine
for hosting religious meetings without compulsory state permission. The
Constitutional Court again rejected his appeal. Four Jehovah's Witnesses
failed in their civil suit seeking redress for the police's illegal entry
without a court order or search warrant, their "detention, verbal insults
and humiliation", and literature seizure.
AZERBAIJAN: Appeals fail against illegal raids, fines
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.forum18.org_archive.php-3Farticle-5Fid-3D2486&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=qVGBaWpku0GaX6uPoR2zpFHuMdKb8JqwYWq7C6esR70&s=EUZQo1wskoYcE3CCaOq-0E0UGTw_Cq6D0866l9uGq3Y&e=
By Felix Corley, Forum 18
Baptist Pastor Hamid Shabanov, from the town of Aliabad in the northern
Zaqatala District, failed for the second time through the Constitutional
Court in the capital Baku to overturn a fine handed down in December 2016
for hosting religious meetings without the compulsory state permission. The
Court refused to consider his further appeal, the Court told Forum 18.
Pastor Shabanov told Forum 18 he had received the Constitutional Court
letter rejecting his further appeal and was consulting other Baptist church
leaders over what further action to take over the raid and fine which he
insists were "illegal" (see below).
Pastor Shabanov and another Baptist were each fined more than three months'
average wages for those in formal work after the 2016 police raid on a
worship meeting in the pastor's home. "I had to pay the fine," Pastor
Shabanov told Forum 18 from Aliabad on 14 June. "The authorities won't
allow our church to meet all together in one place" (see below).
The Aliabad Baptist church has been seeking registration in vain since 1994
and has faced repeated police raids and the jailing of two pastors,
including Pastor Shabanov (see below).
The Aliabad Baptist church does not have the 50 adult members required in
law since 2011 to apply for state permission to exist. This requirement
bans all small religious communities from being allowed to exist and opens
up any small communities that meet for worship to punishment.
(https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.forum18.org_archive.php-3Farticle-5Fid-3D2429&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=qVGBaWpku0GaX6uPoR2zpFHuMdKb8JqwYWq7C6esR70&s=VLPMra--9inWiRLv4g9VmEIrvYOEIDSCmKg3nn6JTTI&e=
)
At least two – and possibly all three – of the Muslims fined up to four
months' average wages to punish them for holding a religious meeting in a
home in the central town of Agsu have failed in their appeals (see below).
Four Jehovah's Witnesses from the north-western town of Mingachevir have
failed in their appeal in a civil suit against an illegal 2016 police raid
on a worship meeting. The four had been seeking redress for the police's
illegal entry into the home of one of the four without a court order or
search warrant, their "detention, verbal insults and humiliation", and
seizure of personal literature. The home owner was also fined (see below).
Raids on people meeting for worship have been frequent in recent years.
However, the authorities appear to have launched fewer such raids on
worship meetings in 2019 so far, Forum 18 notes. Raids on individuals'
homes and subsequent fines have continued (see forthcoming article).
Jehovah's Witnesses have lodged ten appeals to international bodies against
the Azerbaijani government's earlier raids on meetings for worship. Four
cases have been lodged to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg,
and six complaints to the United Nations Human Rights Committee. Muslim
readers of the works of the late Turkish theologian Said Nursi also lodged
a case to the European Court of Human Rights about a massive police raid on
a Baku religious study meeting in 2015 and subsequent punishments (see
forthcoming F18News article).
Aliabad: The Church that cannot meet
Baptist Pastor Hamid Shabanov, from the town of Aliabad in the northern
Zaqatala [Zakatala] District, failed for the second time through the
Constitutional Court in the capital Baku to overturn a fine handed down in
December 2016 for hosting religious meetings without the compulsory state
permission.
The Aliabad Baptist Church has been seeking registration – in vain –
since 1994. Former prisoner of conscience Pastor Shabanov was held in
pre-trial detention from June to November 2008. In February 2009 he was
given a two-year suspended sentence on charges he and his fellow-Baptists
insisted were fabricated. He was arrested a month after another Aliabad
Pastor, Zaur Balaev, was freed after nearly a year in prison on false
charges.
(https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.forum18.org_Archive.php-3Farticle-5Fid-3D1254&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=qVGBaWpku0GaX6uPoR2zpFHuMdKb8JqwYWq7C6esR70&s=9er6V1JQunYOPMl-jNGJxcZcmCKJKjvgkWIquSh8CE0&e=
)
The December 2016 fines on Pastor Shabanov and another church member Mehman
Agamammadov followed a November 2016 raid by police and the local State
Committee official on an "illegal" meeting for prayer in Pastor Shabanov's
home. Police detained more than 30 adults and children present, after which
16 women and 10 men were questioned at the local police station until 10 pm
at night. Police sent confiscated religious literature to the State
Committee in Baku for alleged "expert analysis". The literature was all
returned the following month.
Their Baptist church in Aliabad has been seeking registration – in vain
– since 1994
(https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.forum18.org_archive.php-3Farticle-5Fid-3D2429&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=qVGBaWpku0GaX6uPoR2zpFHuMdKb8JqwYWq7C6esR70&s=VLPMra--9inWiRLv4g9VmEIrvYOEIDSCmKg3nn6JTTI&e=
). Police
and state officials have warned church members not to meet. "If we meet
again for worship, we'll get double the fine," Pastor Shabanov told Forum
18 in February 2018 officials had warned them.
(https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.forum18.org_archive.php-3Farticle-5Fid-3D2350&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=qVGBaWpku0GaX6uPoR2zpFHuMdKb8JqwYWq7C6esR70&s=Z5gwqfKrMjxu9ajmoK0A2bbCTCSAtzbo-eCfKfFi1O4&e=
)
Pastor Shabanov says that the Church still cannot meet. "The authorities
won't allow our church to meet all together in one place," he told Forum 18
on . "They'll fine us again if we do so."
Ilqar Valiyev, the local official of the State Committee for Work with
Religious Organisations in Zaqatala, refused to discuss anything with Forum
18 on 12 June. He insisted all enquiries should be directed to the State
Committee in Baku and put the phone down.
The Aliabad Baptist church does not have enough members now to apply for
registration and thus have state permission to exist and has been
repeatedly punished and threatened since its foundation in the early 1990s.
In a 15-minute hearing on 12 December 2016, Zaqatala District Court found
both Pastor Shabanov and Agamammadov guilty and fined them each the minimum
fine, 1,500 Manats, more than three months' average wages for those in
formal work. Both Baptists were punished under Administrative Code Article
515.0.2 ("Violating legislation on holding religious meetings, marches, and
other religious ceremonies").
(https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.forum18.org_archive.php-3Farticle-5Fid-3D2247&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=qVGBaWpku0GaX6uPoR2zpFHuMdKb8JqwYWq7C6esR70&s=XpQchAwWD-ojVk803VTwXojU-7lQSFfBrMb0kqbf-Ms&e=
)
Pastor Shabanov managed to get the written decision only in January 2017.
Agamammadov never received the written decision, despite repeated attempts
to get it from the court.
Aliabad: Supreme Court, Constitutional Court appeals fail
Pastor Shabanov lodged his appeal to the Constitutional Court in October
2017 after Sheki Appeal Court refused in June 2017 to extend the period for
him to lodge his appeal against the December 2016 fine.
On 19 January 2018, Judge Kamran Shafiyev of Azerbaijan's Constitutional
Court rejected Pastor Shabanov's constitutional complaint, writing to him
on 31 January 2018 to tell him it would not be considering his further
appeal against the December 2016 fine.
(https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.forum18.org_archive.php-3Farticle-5Fid-3D2350&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=qVGBaWpku0GaX6uPoR2zpFHuMdKb8JqwYWq7C6esR70&s=Z5gwqfKrMjxu9ajmoK0A2bbCTCSAtzbo-eCfKfFi1O4&e=
)
Pastor Shabanov then appealed to Azerbaijan's Supreme Court. However, on 28
August 2018, Judge Aziz Seyidov rejected his appeal, according to the
decision seen by Forum 18. The Judge argued that, although the
Administrative Code allows for appeals against decisions in administrative
cases, no law has been enacted allowing for such appeals to be heard in the
Supreme Court.
Pastor Shabanov then decided to appeal again to the Constitutional Court,
where his appeal arrived on 24 April 2019.
Pastor Shabanov argued that its earlier rejection of his appeal had been
"illegal". "This indicates that the judges of the Constitutional Court do
not know the laws and are busy rejecting all complaints sent to the
Constitutional Court under various pretexts," Pastor Shabanov wrote to the
Constitutional Court. "As a result, people's constitutional rights are not
reinstated." He asked to be allowed to submit an appeal to the Court.
However, on 6 May the Constitutional Court wrote to Pastor Shabanov
refusing to consider the case again. "The administration of the Court told
him it had already considered the case," a Constitutional Court official
told Forum 18 on 14 June. "His second appeal was turned down and no hearing
was needed."
The Court official stressed that under the law on the Constitutional Court,
it can only consider appeals against Supreme Court decisions, not decisions
by appeal courts.
Pastor Shabanov confirmed he had received the Constitutional Court's May
letter and was consulting other Baptist church leaders over what further
action to take. "The raid and fine were illegal," he insisted to Forum 18.
Agsu: Two, possibly three appeals fail
Two of the three Muslims fined up to four months' average wages to punish
them for holding a religious meeting in a home in the central town of Agsu
have failed in their appeals. Confusion surrounds whether the third also
failed.
In separate hearings Sheki Appeal Court left two decisions unchanged: on 2
November 2018, Judge Rafail Aliyev rejected Rauf Majidov's appeal against
his fine of three months' average wages for those in formal work for an
"illegal" religious meeting. Similarly, on 8 November 2018 Judge Imanverdi
Shukurov rejected Vuqar Mammadov's appeal.
On 1 November 2018, Judge Mirbahaddin Huseynov heard the appeal by Qambar
Zeynalov against his fine of four months' average wages for those in formal
work for an "illegal" religious meeting. Court records state that the Judge
changed the lower court decision, ruling that it was "not in line with the
facts".
However, an assistant to Judge Huseynov told Forum 18 from Sheki Appeal
Court on 14 June that the Judge had left the lower court decision in
Zeynalov's case unchanged.
Officials of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organisations and
the State Security Service (SSS) secret police raided Mammadov's home in
Agsu on 17 September 2018. They claimed the three men were holding an
"illegal" religious meeting. On 21 September 2018, Agsu District Court
found all three Muslims guilty under Administrative Code Article 515.0.2
("Violating legislation on holding religious meetings, marches, and other
religious ceremonies"). The Judge fined Zeynalov the maximum 2,000 Manats.
The other two men were fined 1,700 and 1,500 Manats.
(https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.forum18.org_archive.php-3Farticle-5Fid-3D2420&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=qVGBaWpku0GaX6uPoR2zpFHuMdKb8JqwYWq7C6esR70&s=4G3Dpk9YJ4mishFlLexUc6NVmSgvzoaK0j1joKi5UOw&e=
)
Mingachevir: Challenge to illegal police raid fails
On 18 September 2018, Judge Elchin Huseynov of Sheki Appeal Court rejected
a civil case brought by four Jehovah's Witnesses, Eldar Aliyev, Maryam
Aliyeva, Elchin Bakirov and Bahruz Kerimov, against an illegal police raid
on a worship meeting, according to the decision seen by Forum 18.
Police had raided a Jehovah's Witness meeting in Aliyev's home in the
north-western town of Mingachevir on 9 January 2016. Mingachevir City Court
then fined Aliyev 1,500 Manats in March 2016, and Sheki Appeal Court upheld
the fine the following month.
(https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.forum18.org_archive.php-3Farticle-5Fid-3D2184&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=qVGBaWpku0GaX6uPoR2zpFHuMdKb8JqwYWq7C6esR70&s=4fbAoU34rRy8nzD5ucVK0BTXnjdslhmY_WuEgSbEEhE&e=
)
The four lodged a civil suit to Mingachevir City Court, seeking redress for
the police's illegal entry into Aliyev's home without a court order or
search warrant, their "detention, verbal insults and humiliation", and
seizure of personal literature. But the court rejected the suit on 25 May
2018. (END)
Full reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Azerbaijan
(https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.forum18.org_archive.php-3Fquery-3D-26religion-3Dall-26country-3D23&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=qVGBaWpku0GaX6uPoR2zpFHuMdKb8JqwYWq7C6esR70&s=G126MuALzBybtX5MEu-5PxWf5dZ_xn-0SdDBoKc7Yc8&e=
)
For more background, see Forum 18's Azerbaijan religious freedom survey
(https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.forum18.org_archive.php-3Farticle-5Fid-3D2429&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=qVGBaWpku0GaX6uPoR2zpFHuMdKb8JqwYWq7C6esR70&s=VLPMra--9inWiRLv4g9VmEIrvYOEIDSCmKg3nn6JTTI&e=
)
Forum 18's compilation of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in
Europe (OSCE) freedom of religion or belief commitments
(https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.forum18.org_archive.php-3Farticle-5Fid-3D1351&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=qVGBaWpku0GaX6uPoR2zpFHuMdKb8JqwYWq7C6esR70&s=edBv75-8JII1F4E93FYYVDglbcG9iIkMWsJkm2D4ONw&e=
)
A printer-friendly map of Azerbaijan
(https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nationalgeographic.org_education_classroom-2Dresources_mapping_outline-2Dmap_-3Fmap-3DAzerbaijan&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=qVGBaWpku0GaX6uPoR2zpFHuMdKb8JqwYWq7C6esR70&s=uVbIWwnptJjAm9AEE2lEtcmwKIdGbgkCDwL_gemT1wA&e=
)
Follow us on Twitter @Forum_18
(https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__twitter.com_forum-5F18&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=qVGBaWpku0GaX6uPoR2zpFHuMdKb8JqwYWq7C6esR70&s=c70GrBrxZXeb1tHi2y9x4YirZXtlrYUC6J-dKCju4eg&e=
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