Azerbaijan
Three detained after Baku house demolished with resident still inside
Yesterday, footage circulated on social media showing the demolition of a house while its residents were still physically inside.
According to pro-government Azerbaijani media, the government has shut the offices of Russian state-run media outlet Sputnik, while also suspending any accreditation to Voice of America (VOA) journalists.
On Monday, pro-government media outlet APA cited Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada as saying that the accreditation of VOA’s two correspondents was cancelled, while Sputnik would only be allowed to have one correspondent — just as Azerbaijan’s state agency Azertac only has one correspondent in Russia.
Previously, APA reported that the government was closing the offices of BBC Azerbaijan.
Though its offices were not specifically targeted, VOA has historically worked out of the offices of Turan, an independent news outlet which shut down on 13 February.
That day, Turan announced that they were closing their offices as a result of financial difficulties. However, its director, Mehman Aliyev, later told OC Media that Turan’s closing was a ‘political order’.
VOA is the international multimedia news agency of the US government, intended for foreign audiences. Its Azerbaijani service has been operating since 1952, with the agency beginning its shortwave broadcast in the country in 1991 until 2014.
OC Media reached out to VOA for comment on the Foreign Ministry’s statement, but has not received a response.
The closure of Sputnik’s office in Azerbaijan, on the other hand, came amidst heightened tensions between Baku and Moscow following the fatal AZAL plane crash of December 2024.
Shortly after the crash, Baku accused Russian air defence of striking the plane as it approached its initial destination of Grozny, and then of subsequently obfuscating its role in the incident.
Aliyev calls on Russia to admit guilt for AZAL plane crash and pay compensation
Two days after the plane crash, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev openly accused Russia of bringing down the Baku-Grozny flight.
Aytan Farhadova
Sputnik was established in November 2014, and first began reporting in Azerbaijani in June 2015.
The closure of multiple media outlets in February continued a trend of repression in Azerbaijan that began in November 2023 with a raid on independent news outlet Abzas Media.
Since then, around 30 journalists have been arrested on smuggling charges.
Explainer | One year on in Azerbaijan’s crackdown on independent media
November 2023 was a black month for journalists working for Azerbaijan’s independent media outlet and OC Media partner AbzasMedia, marking the beginning of a renewed crackdown against independent media. On 20 November 2023, police raided the offices of AbzasMedia, claiming to have found €40,000 (…
Aytan Farhadova
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