State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations of Azerbaijan to be sued because of Jehovah’s Witnesses
The religious community of Jehovah’s Witnesses sued the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations of Azerbaijan because of denial to let religious literature import into the country, according to Report.az.
This is reportedly not the first case religious organizations file a lawsuit against the State Committee.
In 2014, Azerbaijan was among the countries with a high level of religious intolerance, according to the report “Religious Freedom 2014” by Catholic charity organization Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
In a 2013 report on “Religious Freedom,” the U.S. Department of State said the existing restrictions on religious freedom were applied selectively by the Azerbaijani government. The report also stated that in spite of the fact that the Azerbaijani constitution acknowledges the religious freedom, in practice the laws and the policy of the authorities restricts that freedom. The Azerbaijani authorities have committed raids in some religious services, confiscated materials of religious character, persecuted and arrested the Muslim and Christian community members.
The International Organization for the protection of religious rights and freedoms Forum 18 noted that Azerbaijani police regularly holds raids on the homes of religious people, and some Christian clergymen have even been imprisoned for their faith.
Related:
Jehovah’s Witnesses have 19 applications against Azerbaijan pending with European Court of Human Rights
In Azerbaijan, Jehovah's Witnesses can face up to five years in prison for distributing religious literature
While ‘‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’’ were meeting Azerbaijani officials, their supporters were arrested
EurasiaNet: Jehovah’s Witnesses just like Islamist radicals are persecuted in Azerbaijan
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