Azerbaijan has ordered the BBC to close its office in the country, officials in Baku said on Thursday, “What the British Broadcaster represented as” steps against press freedom “.”
Azerbaijan President Ilhh Aliyev has long faced allegations of stifting the media and harassing political opponents in the energy-rich Caucasus nation.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ayahan Hajizade said that Baku had told the BBC that there was no “legal basis” for it to operate a representative office in Azerbaijan, which said that Baku had operated on the basis of “mutuality” Did
He did not further expand the reasons for the forced closure.
In a statement, the BBC said: “Following the oral instructions from Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, the BBC has taken a uninstrovised decision to close its office in the country.”
“We depth on this restrictive move against press freedom, which will obstruct our ability to report from Azerbaijan for our audience inside and outside the country.”
The BBC has about one million people a week in Azeri language service and was working in the country since 1994.
Hajizade of Azerbaijan accused the BBC of trying to “politicize” the issue and “double standards”.
He said that the closure of the local office does not affect the recognition rights for a BBC correspondent.
Azerbaijan, according to the borders rights group, media is one of the worst places in the world for independence.
“In fact the entire media area is under official control,” and “officials are still trying to suppress the final of independent media, as well as journalists who reject self-sensorship,” it says on its website.
Baku stated that “similar decisions” were taken about “other foreign media organizations”, providing details without further details.
(Tagstotransite) Azerbaijan (T) Baku (T) BBC
