Seven Religious Communities Terminated

Baku / 16.12.17 / Turan: The State Committee for Work with Religious Communities decided to terminate the activities of 7 religious communities. As a reason, the non-compliance of these communities with the requirements of the law is indicated, the State Committee said in a press release.

According to the same source, two religious communities have been registered. There is no additional information on the de-registered and registered communities.

Re-registration of religious communities in the country has been conducted since 2009. Today, 783 religious communities are registered. Of these, 755 are Islamic, and 28 are non-Islamic communities.

There are 17 Christian, 8 Jewish and 2 Baha"i communities and one Krishna community in the country.

Some religious communities have not been re-registered, treating it as discrimination. The State Committee explained this by the non-compliance of their documents with the requirements of legislation.

The US Department of State reports on freedom of religion have several times spoken about the violation of the rights of believers in Azerbaijan and, in particular, the refusal to register religious communities with the state. According to the report, the process of registration of religious communities in Azerbaijan is complicated. -0-