Three congregations in the town of Gyanja have been banned from meeting for worship, according to news service Forum 18. Babek Sadykov, a local police officer, has flatly denied this, telling Forum 18 that "no one is being prevented from holding services."
Local people who wish to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals from the authorities told Forum 18 that one of the congregations was warned that "if they met for worship the following Sunday or at any time in the future, they would all be arrested." Two buses full of plainclothes police and riot police arrived later to prevent any attempt to hold services.
Protestants told Forum 18 that the church had already reluctantly decided not to hold one of its major services that day. "People are now very scared," they said. Meanwhile, the so-called World Forum for Intercultural Dialogue, initiated by the government, was told by President Ilham Aliev that "religious freedom and freedom of conscience are fully established in Azerbaijan."
