Azerbaijani Baptist to be deported for faith propaganda

YALAMA, Azerbaijan — On Sept. 10, Javid Shangarov, a Baptist from the small town of Yalama in northern Azerbaijan, was fined and ordered deported for hosting religious events in his home.

“I fined him — he violated the procedure for foreign citizens to live in Azerbaijan by propagandizing for his faith,” Police Chief Gazanfar Huseinov said. “He invited friends and neighbors for religious events at his home.”

Shangarov said he was born in Azerbaijan but has a Russian passport. He said Yalama is his only home and is where his wife, two children and elderly parents live. “It is 99 percent certain that they will deport me.”