20:00, 7 May 2011

Azerbaijan: advocates of wearing hijabs are criminally prosecuted

A criminal case under the articles of the Criminal Code, which assume responsibility for disorderly conduct and rendering resistance to state officials, was initiated against a group of Azerbaijani believers, who held on May 6 a rally outside the Ministry of Education in Baku demanding the freedom for wearing hijabs in schools.

The participants of the rally expressed their outrage with the fact that because of the ban on wearing hijabs, their daughter cannot attend schools. Policemen tried to disperse the protesters. During the confrontation one of the women lost consciousness, dozens of others were beaten and detained.

As stated in the joint statement of the Baku prosecutor's office and the police, the protesters "had ignored the demand of the police to stop the action and committed criminal acts against public safety," the News-Azerbaijan reports.

The statement says that the intensive traffic was broken for approximately 15 minutes; four citizens' cars and nearby objects of trade and public catering were damaged.