Head of European Baptist Federation Calls for Release of Pastor in Azerbaijan

Tony Peck, the General Secretary of the European Baptist Federation (EBF), has urged the 800,000 Baptists across Europe to protest against the Government of Azerbaijan following the arrest of Baptist Pastor Zaur Balayev.

Pastor Balayev, 44, has been in custody since his arrest on May 20 during a Sunday worship service in Aliabad, close to the border of Georgia.

Azeri officials hold the charge of "violent resistance against the representatives of the local government" against the pastor, insisting that he resisted arrest by setting his dog on them.

Church members, including church deacon Ramiz Osmanov, have hotly contested the claims of the officials, maintaining that Pastor Balayev did not have the time to act violently. They claim instead that he has been arrested for religious reasons.

According to the EBF, the church has been refused state registration for 13 years and has also faced discrimination in various forms.

The EBF also said that Pastor Balayev suffers from a heart condition and remains in the prison hospital, in the city of Ganca, where his wife and sister have so far been refused permission to see him.

Mr Peck is appealing to the EBF's member bodies to write to the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, urging him to enforce justice and religious liberty and expressing, "It is our hope and prayer that the false accusations against Pastor Balayev be dropped and he be freed."

There are around 3000 Baptists across 22 congregations in Azerbaijan, where 96 per cent of the population is Muslim.