SSS official: "Activity of 7 illegal religious communities prevented last year and 20 extremists detained on their return to Azerbaijan"

Baku. 10 July. REPORT.AZ/ "Today, the State Security Service (SSS), together with relevant authorities is consistently and systematically working to prevent extremism and radicalism in the country."

Report informs, Head of Division at the State Security Service Suad Mahmudov said at the conference on “Organization and importance of joint action in the fight against religious radicalism",

According to him, SSS uses coordination of open and secret methods of struggle against the forces, which are the source of radicalism.

He noted that as a result of the measures taken jointly with the Ministry of Internal Affairs the activity of 7 outlawed religious communities prevented in the past year, 12 foreign extremists were expelled from the country through the State Migration Service, as a result of joint work with the State Border Service, 20 extremists involved in conflicts abroad were detained and handed over to the investigation bodies.

Mahmudov added that today it is the right of the state to deal with religious issues not only from the point of view of human rights and national-moral values, but also from security perspective: “Although religion is separate from the state, the government is directly responsible for the religious situation in the country and the security of the citizens”.