Azerbaijan Ombudsman rejects claims of religious persecution

The Ombudsman of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Sabina Aliyeva, has dismissed allegations regarding the treatment of Armenian-origin individuals detained in Azerbaijan. These claims, raised by an Armenian human rights defender during a press conference in Armenia on September 4, suggested that detainees faced religious discrimination, torture, the destruction of Christian symbols, and were forced to read the Quran instead of the Bible.

Aliyeva characterized these accusations as baseless, biased, and an attempt to undermine ongoing peace negotiations. She stated that presenting such heavy accusations without reliable evidence is inconsistent with human rights principles. The Ombudsman emphasized that Azerbaijan is a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional secular state where the rights and freedoms of all religious denominations are respected.

Furthermore, Aliyeva argued that criminal responsibility is determined by the nature of the act and legal evidence rather than ethnicity or religion. She noted that attempts to frame legal punishments as ‘ethnic or religious persecution’ are unacceptable and that the National Preventive Group has conducted monitoring and confidential visits to assess the medical and psychological well-being of detainees.