Freedom of Religion

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Ahsen Nuruzada (left) at a 2016 protest in Baku. Photo via social media.

Azerbaijan

Planted drugs and physical abuse: the detention of Muslim activists in Azerbaijan

by Aytan Farhadova

•7 min read

As tensions with Iran have increased, so have the risks of being a Muslim activist in Azerbaijan. Faced with a lack of evidence, however, Azerbaijani authorities have looked at other ways, from intimidation to false drug charges, to get the results they want. On 26 October, Ahsan Nuruzada, a member of the Muslim Unity Movement, a religious opposition group in Azerbaijan, was detained by four men in civilian clothing. For the next three days, Nuruzada’s family had no idea of his whereabou

Mehriban and Ilham Aliyev at the mosque in Baku.

Azerbaijan

Opinion | First they came for the Muslims, and we did not speak out…

by Samad Shikhi

•7 min read

The mass arrest of religious Muslims in Azerbaijan is part of a blatant state campaign to control religion and demonise Iran. As such, the deafening silence among Azerbaijani activists and the international community is nothing short of a disgrace. On 7 April, I attended the trial of Nijat Aliyev, a member of the Muslim Union Movement. Except for a handful of social activists, I could see no one else in the courtroom except for Nijat’s relatives — the sight of whom hurt my heart. While we

Taleh Baghirzade in 2015. Video still via Xalq TV.

Azerbaijan

Hunger strike of Azerbaijani religious leader continues

by Ismi Aghayev

•1 min read

Taleh Baghirzade, chair of Azerbaijan’s Muslim Unity Movement, has been on hunger strike since 3 June in protest against the arrest and alleged torture of members of his organisation. Baghirzade has also demanded an apology from the law enforcement officers who allegedly insulted God while interrogating a member of the group. Baghirzade’s lawyer, Fakhraddin Mehdiyev, told OC Media that despite having ‘serious health problems’ his client would not stop his hunger strike until ‘the perpetrator

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani Shia theologian ‘recorded secret sex tapes’ of others

by Ismi Aghayev

•1 min read

Pro-government social media channels in Azerbaijan have released footage of Shia theologian Sardar Babayev, who is awaiting trial for treason, appearing to secretly record intimate encounters of other Shia activists. Two similar videos began circulating on 10 November. In both, Babayev is seen planting a camera in a room, after which a religious activist enters and has sex with someone. Sardar Babayev was detained by the State Security Service on 19 October before being charged with treason

Ahliman Rustamov was detained on 25 October. Photo: Turan.

Azerbaijan

Roundup of Shia figures continues in Azerbaijan

by Ismi Aghayev

•2 min read

A Shia theologian has become the latest to be arrested in Azerbaijan in an apparent roundup of prominent Shia figures in the country. On 25 October, Ahliman Rustamov, a theologian and former prayer leader of the Haji Javad Mosque in Baku, was detained by the State Security Service and taken for questioning, before being released shortly after. His son, Gasim Rustamov, told OC Media that Security Service agents confiscated ‘about 15 religious books’ belonging to his father. ‘We were not tol

The former Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall in Cherkess. Photo: jw-russia.org.

Freedom of Religion

FSB raid homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Karachay-Cherkessia

by OC Media

•2 min read

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has raided the homes of nine Jehovah’s Witnesses in Karachay-Cherkessia, detaining 10 people, the Jehovah’s Witnesses of Russia has reported. The searches took place on Monday in Cherkessk, the capital of Karachay-Cherkessia. Nine of those detained have since been released. According to the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia website, a criminal case has been launched against Albert Batchayev on charges of ‘organising the activities’ of an ‘extremist’

Freedom of Religion

Denial of construction permit for Batumi mosque was discriminatory, court rules

by OC Media

•4 min read

Batumi City Court has ruled that the city authorities’ refusal to grant a permit for the local Muslim community to construct a second mosque in the city was discriminatory. The Mosque Construction Fund, a local initiative group set up to raise funds for the mosque, first addressed the court in June 2017, after their application for a construction permit was rejected. For over two decades, Muslims in Batumi, the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, have demanded that land be alloc