A/HRC/4/21/Add.2 page 11 48. It was reported that two Wahabi Muslim groups were on two different occasions “chased out” of Nakichevan by the police. The authorities in Nakichevan did not deny that these groups were ordered to leave the province, but justified their action on the grounds that these were foreigners with links to militant religious groups. Nevertheless, their expulsion was reportedly not carried out in accordance with the law. 49. Other religious communities alleged that they could not freely associate with their own communities in Nakichevan. Those visiting the province from outside had to get permission before joining religious ceremonies. Incidents of detention of those visiting have also been reported. 50. Representatives of SCWRA in Nakichevan told the Special Rapporteur that they were not aware of the cases that had been reported to her. However, they maintained that they wanted to keep close control of religious communities operating in the region. C. Registration 51. According to article 11 of the law “On freedom of faith”, in order to constitute a legal entity, religious associations have to be registered. The registration process that was earlier entrusted to the Ministry of Justice is now under the competence of SCWRA. In 2001, the Government ordered a re-registration of all religious associations. The registration enables religious communities to function as a legal entity but is not a precondition to exercise one’s right to freedom of religion or belief. 52. At the time of the visit there were 342 registered religious associations, of which 32 were non-Muslims. Besides these associations, an approximate number of 1,500 religious communities function in Azerbaijan without registration. According to the authorities, the main reason why religious communities may have been refused registration was related to the religious message itself. 53. While non-Muslim groups can directly apply for registration to SCWRA, Muslim communities have to first receive a letter of approval from CMB. According to CMB, very few Muslim groups had not received their approval. The Special Rapporteur was told that these exceptional cases involved security concerns although no further details were provided. There were no details regarding the time frame in which CMB approves or rejects an application. There were complaints that CMB simply keeps some requests for pre-registration approval indefinitely pending. 54. Some religious communities have faced difficulties in obtaining registration by SCWRA for different reasons. In most cases registration was denied because the message spread by the community was considered insulting towards other religions. The Love Baptist Church’s registration was cancelled in court. The Church reapplied for registration many times but was refused registration on all separate instances. Members of the Church have told the Special Rapporteur that the head of SCWRA declared that he was personally opposed to this registration.