(ABP) — The long-awaited trial of an Azerbaijani Baptist pastor arrested in June has had another delay.
Hamid Shabanov, 52, was supposed to stand trial Oct. 31 on what supporters say are bogus weapons charges. But his family and lawyer told the Norway-based Christian news service Forum 18 Nov. 3 that the trial date was pushed back until Nov. 5. The delay, they said, was the result of prosecutors refusing to hand over documents to the defense until Oct. 31.
Shabanov’s attorney, Mirman Aliev, accused prosecutors of intentionally dragging their feet to delay the trial. He said it would take him 10 hours by public transportation to make the trip from Baku, the Azerbaijani capital, to the northern city of Zakatala for the Nov. 5 trial date.
Police arrested Shabanov June 20 in a raid of his home in the remote northern village of Aliabad, near Azerbaijan’s border with Georgia. He has been held in jail ever since. He is accused of illegal possession of a firearm, a crime punishable by up to three years. His supporters say he did not own a gun and accuse authorities of planting the weapon to frame him.
The arrest is part of what religious-freedom observers have alleged is a systematic government attempt to intimidate religious minorities like Protestant Christians, Sunni Muslims and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Another Baptist pastor, Zauer Balaev, was set free in March after being imprisoned on what supporters claimed were trumped-up assault charges.
Authorities set Balaev free after a worldwide campaign for his release that included leaders of the Baptist World Alliance and former President Jimmy Carter.
Shabanov’s town, Aliabad, has about 10,000 residents and is near Zakatala. It is made up almost entirely made up of members of the Ingilo minority, ethnic Georgians who were converted to Islam from Orthodox Christianity several centuries ago.
While Azerbaijan’s constitution provides that persons of all faiths may choose and practice their religion without restriction, the latest United States State Department report on international religious freedom found “sporadic violations of religious freedom by some officials.”
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Baptist pastor’s trial begins; Azerbaijanis claim intimidation (10/31)