ICC Note:
“Bookshops selling religious literature [including Christian bookshops] in Azerbaijan are facing unspecified measures because they do not have the compulsory state licence to sell religious literature,” Forum 18 News Service reports.
By Felix Corley
4/12/2011 Azerbaijan (Forum 18 News Service) – Bookshops selling religious literature in Azerbaijan are facing unspecified measures because they do not have the compulsory state licence to sell religious literature, Forum 18 News Service notes. Ilgar Ibrahimoglu Allaverdiev, head of the Devamm Muslim religious freedom organisation, told Forum 18 that “only very few can get such licences, while fines for selling religious books without a licence hang over traders like a sword of Damocles.” However, he added that traders were reluctant to make official complaints in writing, fearing state reprisals, and preferred to complain verbally. Some local people noted to Forum 18 that traders are vulnerable to officials seeking bribes to turn a blind eye to evasion of the regulations. However, the harsh censorship regime on all religious literature is still being rigorously applied. And a ban is being imposed on local branches of foreign non-governmental organisations if, among other things, they engage in “political or religious propaganda”.
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