Azerbaijan

A law was passed in May 2009 that required all churches to register with the state by January 2010. Churches which failed to comply are considered illegal organizations and severe punishment is threatened. Thus far, few churches have been able to register successfully. Nevertheless, many house churches have committed to going underground if they cannot legally meet in public.

In the meantime, persecution has been intensifying. Officials raided a home in March 2009 because they heard a report that children were being read Bible stories. The children were questioned for hours before being released to their parents. The authorities also confiscate all Christian literature. Some believers have been fined severely for “illegally spreading Christianity.”