Azerbaijan: Police 'Deport' Local-Born Baptist

ASSIST News Service reports that an Azerbaijani Christian has been cut off from his wife, father and children in his native village after being "deported" toRussia on Wednesday (Sept. 30). Local Baptist Javid Shingarov was reportedly fined and given a deportation order for holding religious worship services in his home near Yalama village. However, Yalama Police Chief Gazanfar Huseinov has refused to tell news services why he did not give his verdict in writing and why the Migration Service was apparently not involved. Human rights activists say these failures violate Azerbaijan's law. The Christian books confiscated from Shingarov and others during raids on Sept. 9 have not been returned, while a Baptist whose home was among those raided was pressured to resign from his job as a school director.