Visit of European Representatives of Jehovah�s Witnesses

Baku / 20.04.17 / Turan: Head of the European Association "Christian Witnesses of Jehovah" Tony Brace and representative of this structure Miriano Makias arrived in Azerbaijan.

During the meeting in the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations, the guests were informed of the creation of conditions for free activity of religious communities in Azerbaijan, the State Committee said.

At the same time, concern was expressed about the growth of Islamophobia, racial and religious discrimination in some European countries. Azerbaijan sees a solution to these problems in "tolerance and solidarity," the official statement said.

It should be noted that the activities of the Jehovah's Witnesses community in Azerbaijan began in the mid-1990s. However, at present the community is not registered by the state. Members of the community are persecuted. The police periodically raids, detaining participants in meetings of members of the community, withdrawing their literature. As a rule, administrative fines apply to them.

There have been cases of administrative arrests and criminal prosecution. So, Irina Zakharchenko and Valida Jabrayilova were arrested in 2015 and held in custody for 11 months. They were released ahead of schedule after protests from international organizations. -06D-