Local authorities broke up a meeting at a Seventh-day Adventist church in Gyanja, western Azerbaijan, February 24, saying the church has failed to obtain a necessary re-registration certificate. Police took details of those people present at the meeting, and told church leaders that future meetings must be suspended until further notice. The church building will be sealed to prevent church members from gaining access.

Since the raid, church leaders in Gyanja have attempted to meet with city officials, and are working to get the documents showing their compliance with religious registration requirements, says Valery Ivanov, communication director for the Adventist Church in the Euro-Asia region.

Azerbaijan’s government recently initiated a nationwide re-registration process for all religious groups.  Local Adventist leaders say that all the documents needed for re-registration were submitted to the proper state committee before the February 1 deadline, but a certificate has not yet been issued.

In an interview with Keston News Service, Aleksander Kozlov, a member of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations, said the committee is expected to approve the Adventists’ re-registration applications “very soon.”  When asked about the disruption of the Adventist meeting in Gyanja, Kozlov acknowledged that it had occurred, saying, “Such raids are unpleasant, especially when they take place in the middle of services.”

Many Protestant organizations in this central Asian country say Azerbaijan’s re-registration requirements are being used by local authorities to place pressure on unpopular or minority religious groups. John Graz, public affairs and religious liberty director for the Adventist world church, says this trend is more noticeable outside the capital, Baku. “Religious pluralism is less accepted in more rural regions,” he says. “And throughout the country, the media plays a significant part in inflaming public opinion against religious minorities, many of which are portrayed as ‘foreign’ religions.” The situation is further complicated, explains Graz, by the fact that Azerbaijan, a predominantly Muslim country, is engaged in a war with Armenia, which is considered a Christian country.

Graz traveled to Azerbaijan in December last year to attend a religious symposium that brought together religious leaders of different faiths, government officials, and community leaders, to discuss ways of building a more tolerant society.

Azerbaijan, located between Russia and Iran, has a very small Christian community; only 3 percent of its population claim a Christian affiliation. Graz says that the Adventist world church will closely monitor the current situation in Gyanja.