Participants of Religious Meeting Detained in Zagatala

During the raid committed by police and the State Committee for Work with Religious Communities (SCWRC) in the village of Aliabad of the Zagatala region (400 km from Baku), an illegal religious meeting was identified. This happened in the garden of a local resident Hamid Shabanov. The participants were detained, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

It was established that Shabanov with his fellow countryman Mehman Agamamedov, a citizen of Kazakhstan Tarana Shabanova and a citizen of Georgia Aghasi Suleymanov illegally organized a meeting with the participation of 23 local residents, "with a view to extending a banned religious movement."

After the detainees were taken explanatory notes, they were released.

During the inspection of the premises, 16 units of religious literature were seized and sent to SCWRC for the due examination. The investigation is underway.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs does not tell why the meeting was considered illegal, what kind of religious current was in question, or what kind of literature was confiscated. -16D06-