Azerbaijan: foreign media muzzled by llham Aliyev's regime
Azerbaijani authorities have recently revoked the accreditation of several journalists from foreign outlets, citing a false argument of "reciprocity." Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns this arbitrary decision, which exacerbates the authoritarian regime’s crackdown on press freedom, and calls for the journalists’ accreditations to be immediately reinstated.
For the past month, journalists working for foreign media outlets have been blocked from covering the news in Azerbaijan as the country’s authorities have begun withdrawing their accreditations, making it legally impossible for them to continue reporting. The British Broadcasting Company (BBC), which has reported from Azerbaijan since 1994, was forced to close its Baku office on 13 February. Media workers from American outlets Bloomberg, a business news site, and Voice of America, a state-owned media have also seen their accreditation cancelled. A representative of the British news agency Reuters confirmed to RSF that “two freelance journalists working for Reuters no longer have accreditation in Azerbaijan due to a new government policy granting only one accreditation per foreign media outlet.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs justifies these measures under the principle of "reciprocity," aiming to balance the number of foreign journalists in Azerbaijan with Azerbaijani journalists abroad. However, what Baku refers to as "Azerbaijani journalists" are, in fact, representatives of state-controlled media outlets.
“Journalists must not be used as pawns in diplomatic conflicts, let alone under the false pretense of ‘reciprocity.’ These arbitrary decisions are yet another severe blow to press freedom and seek to further isolate Azerbaijan from external scrutiny. We urge the authorities to immediately reinstate the revoked accreditations and to guarantee that foreign media are free to work with full editorial independence.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had already violently disparaged American media in December 2024. "Through their obedient resources, like Voice of America and Radio Liberty, they throw dirt at our people and our country day and night," he raged on 17 December in an interview with Dmitry Kiselev, director of the Russian state agency "Rossiya Segodnya" and a well-known propagandist.
Crackdown on the independent media
Beyond restricting foreign outlets, the authorities are increasing pressure on the independent local press. The Turan news agency, the last independent local media headquartered in the country, was forced to cease its journalistic activities on 13 February, citing “economic reasons” as the official reason for its closure. Although the site was initially preserved after it halted operations, it is now no longer accessible. The closure of Turan — which was often subjected to cyberattacks and smear campaigns by pro-government outlets — illustrates the regime’s determination to stifle independent news coverage.
These new restrictions come amid an escalating crackdown on journalists in Azerbaijan since the November 2023 arrest of Sevinj Vagifgizi, editor-in-chief of the investigative site Abzas Media; four of her colleagues have also been arrested. Currently, a total of 24 journalists are arbitrarily detained in the country — the highest number since Ilham Aliyev came to power in 2003.
