Azernews.Az

The Azerbaijani state body overseeing the work of religious groups has filed a lawsuit to shut down the local representation of a Christian church over its failure to undergo re-registration.

If the court approves the suit filed by the State Committee on Religious Organizations, the Protestant community Greater Grace Church will formally stop its activity in Azerbaijan, according to Forum 18, a Norwegian human rights organization that promotes religious freedom.

In accord with the new law passed in 2009, religious communities active in the country must be re-registered. Since then it is the first time the government has sought to discontinue the work of a religious community over the lack of registration.

Greater Grace Church representatives have told Forum 18 that revoking their legal status would be allegedly unlawful as the group has been registered in Azerbaijan since 1993.

Priest Ilya Zenchenko, head of the Azerbaijan Baptists Union, who supports the Greater Grace Church, believes that shutting down the religious community by means of a court ruling would run counter to the law and Constitution and impact Azerbaijan`s image in the world.

``The State Committee on Religious Organizations, which is charged with helping worshippers, is instead engaged in pressuring them,`` he claimed. ``For the first time, the committee is openly taking action to discontinue the activity of any Christian community. Before that, indirect means [of pressure] were being used, including police [interference].``

Zenchenko called on President Ilham Aliyev and the OSCE to pay close attention to the issue.