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US Department of State: Azerbaijan struggles against terrorism and religious radicalism

31 May 2013 07:41 (UTC +04:00)

According to the report, Azerbaijan actively opposed terrorist organizations seeking to move people, money, and material through the Caucasus: ‘The country continued to strengthen its counterterrorism efforts and had some success in both reducing the presence of terrorist facilitators and hampering their activities’.

Azerbaijan is a member of Moneyval, the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism, a Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-style regional body. In order to bring Azerbaijan’s legislative framework into conformity with international standards and requirements, including those of the EU and FATF, a significant number of legislative acts – four codes, 15 laws, and six presidential decrees covering more than 100 articles – have been amended but the Financial Monitoring Service (FMS), Azerbaijan’s Financial Intelligence Unit, since 2009.

At the end of the report, it was noted that the Government of Azerbaijan restricts religious activity, including television broadcasts and the sale of religious literature at metro stations.