Azerbaijan - Baptist pastor threatened

CONCERN has been expressed about the safety of Baptist pastor Zaur Balaev after he was once again threatened with imprisonment in Azerbaijan.

 

Mr Balaev was only released in March, seven months into a two-year sentence, following international pressure.

 

However, the harassment and threats from state officials have quickly resumed after his church continued to meet, in defiance of a police ban, in his home town of Aliabad in the north-western region of Zakatala.

 

Through the religious liberty group Forum 18, Mr Balaev has reported he has been summoned by police officials and threatened with a new prison term.

 

'They didn't hit me but they were very crude,' Mr Balaev said.

 

The pastor revealed he was asked, 'Haven't you learnt from your imprisonment? Wasn't one prison term enough for you?'

 

And in what Mr Balaev said was a clear threat, one officer added, 'You may not be afraid, but you've forgotten you've got a wife, daughter and a son.'

 

Mr Balaev said the threats came from Kamandar Hasanov, the deputy regional police chief, and two of his colleagues in Mr Hasanov's office in Zakatala. When contacted by Forum 18, Mr Hasanov denied making the threats.

 

Tony Peck, general secretary of the European Baptist Federation, told The Baptist Times the recent events were worrying.

 

He said, 'We are most concerned about this latest development which shows that despite what was said by the Azerbaijani government when Pastor Zaur was released, there is still repression of basic religious freedom in the country, not only of Baptists but of other religious groups as well.

 

'We understand that Pastor Zaur is out of the country at the moment attending an educational course, but we remain concerned for the safety of himself, his family, and his congregation in this situation of harassment and intimidation.'

 

Mr Balaev was arrested in May 2007 on charges of attacking five police officers and damaging a police car that he and his church insist were trumped up.

 

 

Mr Balaev, 44, was sentenced to two years' imprisonment in August 2007, but was freed under amnesty in March. His health worsened while under arrest, and he suffered two heart attacks.

 

Both the EBF and the Baptist World Alliance brought the case to the attention of Baptists around the world, as well as making direct appeals to the Azerbaijani government.

 

Former US president Jimmy Carter also wrote directly to the country's president Ilham Aliyev, campaigning for Mr Balaev's release.

 

One month after this letter, Mr Balaev was one of 58 prisoners to be pardoned by the president.

 

But even after this release, concern was nevertheless expressed at the plight of Christians in Azerbaijan.

 

Baptists have been repeatedly barred from gaining state registration, though the congregation Mr Baleav leads has existed for more than 15 years.

 

Although police have not punished church members for continuing to meet, Mr Balaev said they have continued to visit services both of his congregation and of another Baptist congregation in the village led by Pastor Hamid Shabanov.

 

'They visited us three times and other congregations twice,' he reported.

 

'Pastor Hamid was also summoned by the police and threatened.'

 

He said police scrutiny had been particularly intense during a visit some two weeks earlier by fellow church members from Baku.

 

'Police asked them why they had come and what they were doing. They demanded to see their identity documents and wrote down their details.'

 

'They realise they can't drive us out,' he added, referring to the fact that all the church members are local people. 'But they observe us closely.'

 

The Revd Ilya Zenchenko, head of Azerbaijan's Baptist Union, is supporting Mr Balaev, and said the most recent intimidation needs to be made public.

 

'They used very bad threats against him,' he told Forum 18.

'This must be reported. They definitely want to threaten him, telling him 'this is an Islamic country and Christians shouldn't be here'.'

 

Mr Peck said the EBF will be using the contacts it has established with the Azerbaijani government 'to urge the upholding of international standards of human rights and religious freedom in this situation'.

 

By courtesy of the Baptist Times