Churches being destroyed in Artsakh, between international reports and Baku’s “tolerance”. “Geghard” Foundation

“Geghard” Foundation. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom recently published an updated 2025 report on Azerbaijan. Among other issues, it is noted that historical Armenian religious sites in Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas continue to be under threat. In 2025 in July, at least 8 destroyed and 10 damaged religious objects were recorded through satellite photos.

A few days after the publication of the report, several cases of vandalism became known. Satellite photos confirmed that the Cathedral of St. Astvamor Hovanu and St. Hakob Church in Stepanakert were completely destroyed, and the fate of many churches still remains unknown.

The report also records the oppression of more than two dozen Christian Armenian prisoners. Without providing proper legal protection, they were tried, beaten, subjected to psychological violence, they were not provided with the necessary medicines and normal food, they were not allowed to keep the Bible with them, and the crosses tattooed on their bodies were “burned” and erased.

Among the persecutions on religious grounds, the report also mentions violence against Shia religious figures and keeping them in terrible conditions. The report also recorded persecution of civil society representatives.

Naturally, any report, statement, which contains even the slightest criticism or mentions a problem, is qualified as biased and provocative in Baku.

The Caucasus Muslim Department (KMU) responded to the report. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, these assessments do not reflect “Azerbaijan’s efforts to promote religious tolerance within the country and at the global level.” On April 27, the Ministry of Internal Affairs issued another statement justifying the policy of demolishing the church. According to the logic of that department, churches are symbols of “occupation”, therefore, their demolition cannot be considered destruction of religious and cultural heritage.

As we can see, the evaluations of the report and the propaganda of “Baku’s tolerance” contradict each other. The problem is how the word “tolerance” can include phenomena such as the destruction of monuments, their distortion and appropriation, the absolute denial of Armenianness. Moreover, all this is done openly and without any restrictions, and the declared tolerance is primarily part of the packaging of the country for the foreign audience.

The word tolerance has a very clear definition: sympathy or respect for the beliefs or practices of others that differ or conflict with one’s own. Tolerance: “tolerantlıq” in Azerbaijani is not just a word, it is a phenomenon, a concept that either exists or does not exist. As the International Religious Freedom Committee believes, in this regard, there is a need to keep Azerbaijan in the list of special observation.

“Geghard” Foundation