Kifayat Maharramova was fined on 1 May for selling religious literature without the required approval from the State Committee for Work with Religious Organisations.
Police seized 58 books and 16 CDs from her shop in Gyanja, Azerbaijan’s second city. Earlier in 2017, two booksellers in the capital, Baku, failed to overturn similar fines on appeal.
All three were fined 2,000 Manats each (about $1,200), equivalent to about four months’ salary for local workers.
Homes raided
In the southern town of Astara, close to the border with Iran, police are investigating after officers seized 365 ‘banned’ religious books and 13 CDs from five homes on 5 May.
One shop in Baku is now allowed to sell religious books, but only after a significant delay in winning approval. In March, a court in Baku handed down an acquittal after a bookshop that sells Christian books proved that the items being sold had State Committee approval, or were sample copies to be submitted for such approval. Eight years after it first applied, the State Committee has finally given the shop the licence it needs to sell religious books and items.
Despite this, officials say there is no formal ‘ban’ of materials.
