SUMGAIT, Azerbaijan — The state religious affairs official who led the police raid on a Baptist congregation in Sumgait during morning worship June 12 explained away the lack of a warrant. “I’m the permission and the warrant,” local Baptists quoted him as telling them.
A Jehovah’s Witness meeting in Ganja was also raided the same day. Both were raided because they do not have the compulsory state registration and in both cases fines are expected. An official of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations defended its officials’ participation in the raids, claiming they were “in accordance with the law.”
The raids came two days after Parliament approved yet further restrictive amendments to the Religion Law.
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