Azerbaijan is Country of Particular Concern, USCIRF says

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended that the transcontinental country of Azerbaijan now be placed on the US State Department’s list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) because of intensifying violations of religious freedom, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. The USCIRF made its recommendation in its new annual report on the status of religious freedom around the world.

Ruled by an Islamic dictatorship, Azerbaijan is located at the boundary between Eastern Europe and Western Asia; the small country is bound by Russia to the north, Armenia and Turkey to the west, and Iran to the south. The Azerbaijani population is 97% Muslim and 3% Christian.

Azerbaijan has a long history of persecuting religious minorities, especially ethnic Armenian Christians. The current Islamic regime led by President Ilham Aliyev has been notoriously brutal toward Armenian Christians. “The regime has spent years inciting public hatred for the region’s ancient community of Armenian Christians,” ICC explained in its report.

“President Aliyev acted on this hatred when the Azerbaijani military first blockaded and then forcibly took over the Armenian-majority district of Nagorno-Karabakh (also called Artsakh) in September 2023. About 120,000 ethnic Armenians fled their homes to neighboring Armenia over fears of genocide.”

In a statement recommending that Azerbaijan now be placed on the United States CPC list, USCIRF Commissioner Stephen Schneck said: “USCIRF documented a significant and alarming increase in the number of prisoners arrested on the basis of religion or belief in Azerbaijan in the year.”

“In addition, authorities are regularly accused of torturing or threatening sexual violence to illicit false confessions from detainees with those perpetrating such violence facing no accountability,” Schneck said.

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