Azerbaijan Police Order Deportation of Church Member

After her Protestant Greater Grace Church had just celebrated Easter, Nina Koptseva, a Russian citizen, was forcibly taken by police to the Baku railway station for deportation to Russia without a court order, as reported by Keston News Service.

Pastor Bayram told Keston that Koptseva and three other ladies were simply talking among themselves when they were detained by the police "for deportation (as) foreign citizens caught conducting religious 'propaganda' and subject to a fine."

Police have demanded money from two of the women with Koptseva...but it is "unclear if these are fines or demands for bribes" as no certificates of fines have been issued. Koptseva, originally from Moscow, runs a small home in Baku for young women, and it is unclear what will happen next.

Keston