In a move welcomed by religious rights advocates, the United States has for the first time officially listed the Republic of Azerbaijan as a country which violates religious freedom, Christianity Today (CT) reports. A part of the former Soviet Union until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, Azerbaijan is a Muslim-majority transcontinental state which lies at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
Christians expressed concerns Thursday about new religious legislation in Azerbaijan that bars churches from naming leaders without state approval.
An Azerbaijani man fined for leading a ‘house church’ without state permission has not been treated fairly during his appeal against the fine, a local source has told World Watch Monitor.
A court in Baku will decide next week whether Greater Grace Protestant Church – which has been registered with the state for 19 years – should be liquidated, according to Forum 18 News Service.
Authorities in Azerbaijan continued preparations Tuesday, March 13, to close down an evangelical church in the first such reported incident since the former Soviet republic introduced harsh religious legislation in 2009, rights activists said.
There was international concern Tuesday, August 14, about the fate of two detained Baptist leaders in the former Soviet republics of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.