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Re: Nakhitchevan
US, Norway urge Azerbaijan to probe alleged Muslim crackdown
Friday, January 15, 2010
BAKU – Agence France-Presse
The United States and Norway on Thursday urged authorities in ex-Soviet Azerbaijan to investigate claims of a police crackdown on Muslim worshippers in a remote village.
In a joint statement, the embassies of both countries also protested that their diplomats had been denied access to the village of Bananyar in the Nakhchivan region, an enclave separate from the rest of Azerbaijan on the border with Iran.
The embassies said they had "raised with the government of Azerbaijan concerns about the situation in the Nakhchivani village of Bananyar". They said diplomats had traveled to the village on Wednesday but were prevented from entering and were "verbally threatened". "We jointly call upon the government to fully investigate the incidents in Bananyar village and to provide protection to foreign diplomats working in Azerbaijan," the statement said.
Local media and rights groups have accused police of beating and arresting dozens of people in the village after they observed the Shiite religious holiday of Ashura late last month. Officials have denied any crackdown took place.
Rights groups have frequently accused Azerbaijan of persecuting devout Muslims because of fears Islamic influence will threaten the authorities' grip on power. Azerbaijan, an oil-rich, mainly Shiite Muslim country of 8.7 million on the Caspian Sea, has warned of a rising threat from Islamic militants, and jailed dozens of alleged extremists for planning attacks.
Authorities last year passed a law banning foreign citizens from leading prayers in Azerbaijani mosques and requiring leaders of religious organizations to be approved by the state.
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US, Norway urge Azerbaijan to probe alleged Muslim crackdown
Friday, January 15, 2010
BAKU – Agence France-Presse
The United States and Norway on Thursday urged authorities in ex-Soviet Azerbaijan to investigate claims of a police crackdown on Muslim worshippers in a remote village.
In a joint statement, the embassies of both countries also protested that their diplomats had been denied access to the village of Bananyar in the Nakhchivan region, an enclave separate from the rest of Azerbaijan on the border with Iran.
The embassies said they had "raised with the government of Azerbaijan concerns about the situation in the Nakhchivani village of Bananyar". They said diplomats had traveled to the village on Wednesday but were prevented from entering and were "verbally threatened". "We jointly call upon the government to fully investigate the incidents in Bananyar village and to provide protection to foreign diplomats working in Azerbaijan," the statement said.
Local media and rights groups have accused police of beating and arresting dozens of people in the village after they observed the Shiite religious holiday of Ashura late last month. Officials have denied any crackdown took place.
Rights groups have frequently accused Azerbaijan of persecuting devout Muslims because of fears Islamic influence will threaten the authorities' grip on power. Azerbaijan, an oil-rich, mainly Shiite Muslim country of 8.7 million on the Caspian Sea, has warned of a rising threat from Islamic militants, and jailed dozens of alleged extremists for planning attacks.
Authorities last year passed a law banning foreign citizens from leading prayers in Azerbaijani mosques and requiring leaders of religious organizations to be approved by the state.
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