ICC: Ilham Aliev’s re-election could prove too expensive for religious minorities

As Azerbaijan’s authoritarian President Ilham Aliyev seeks to secure his re-election to a third consecutive term, religious and civil liberties for Christians and others are likely to suffer even further at the hands of one of the world’s most corrupt and autonomous rulers, the International Christian Concern (ICC) statement reads.

The Greater Grace Protestant Church in Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku lost its final appeal against closure on Jan. 9. In a hearing that lasted just eight minutes without any church representative in court, their appeal was rejected and the church has no further legal options left to challenge the canceled registration. It now faces prosecution and punishment if it continues to meet for what would be an “unregistered religious gathering.”

The statement says, that according to Forum 18 News service, raids on religious communities in Azerbaijan are frequent and religious literature is often seized in such raids. In a recent case, two Baptist-owned homes were raided by police in Aliabad in north-western Zakatala Region in November 2012. Religious literature was confiscated from them and the police have still not returned the books.

It says also that in 2003, after a sham election marked by serious irregularities, Ilham Aliyev became the “self-appointed” President of Azerbaijan. In his second presidential term, he removed the two-term limit for the presidency and paved the way for his re-election campaign this year, which is feared to be marked by gross violations of religious and civil liberties to suppress and intimidate any sign of opposition.

“As with all authoritarian regimes, freedom of the press and minority religious gatherings are targeted by the state as a threat to be neutered,” the statement reads.

During his effectively uncontested rule, President Aliyev has earned the reputation of operating like a mafia crime boss: “employing a systemic effort to manipulate elections, controlling the opposition, silencing the voice of the press, suppressing religious minorities, and amassing great personal wealth.”