Azerbaijani SC upholds ban on visiting "Abu-Bekr" Mosque

The Supreme Court (SC) of Azerbaijan has upheld the ban for parishioners to attend the "Abu-Bekr" Mosque in Baku until the end of the investigation into the fact of explosion in the temple on August 17, 2008. Then, a grenade thrown into the Mosque during the evening prayer killed 2 and wounded 13 persons.

On May 27, the SC rejected the cassation complaint lodged by the religious community "Nariman District's Believers" against decisions of the Nariman District Court of Baku and the Baku Appeal Court to suspend the operation of the Mosque till the end of the investigation.

Imam of "Abu-Bekr" Mosque Gamet Suleimanov has expressed his regret for the SC's decision and treated the continuing Mosque suspension as absolutely unreasonable.

Having refrained from detailed comments, Mr Suleimanov said that the community will stand for restoration of their rights by legal means and plans to lodge complaints to the Plenum of the Supreme Court and, if necessary, to the Constitutional Court. Should all the internal remedies be exhausted, a complaint to the ECtHR will be filed.

In his turn, Ilgar Ibragimoglu, head of the Centre for Defence of the Freedom of Conscience and Religion (DEVAMM), found the SC's decision to be a continuation "of the campaign to restrict religious rights, toughen the legislation in this area, close and demolish mosques." In his opinion, the authorities' arguments for banning visiting "Abu-Bekr" Mosque for safety reasons are unreasonable.

"Oil Academy also suffered from an armed attack, however, they didn't stop training there for threats of new attacks," Mr Ibragimoglu said to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The State Committee for Work with Religious Structures (SCWRS) has reiterated its position: the Mosque will remain closed till the end of investigation.