“The Azerbaijani government has recently revoked the accreditation of several foreign media journalists, justifying this baseless decision with the so-called ‘principle of reciprocity.’”

This was stated in a declaration issued by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) regarding the revocation of accreditations for foreign media operating in Azerbaijan.

The organization condemned this groundless decision, emphasizing that it further intensifies the authoritarian regime’s crackdown on press freedom, and called for the immediate restoration of the journalists’ accreditations.

The statement noted that over the past month, several foreign media outlets operating in Azerbaijan have faced obstacles in disseminating news, as the authorities have revoked their accreditations, making it legally impossible for them to continue their journalistic activities.

“On February 13, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which had been operating in Azerbaijan since 1994, was forced to close its office in Baku. The accreditation of journalists from Bloomberg and the U.S.-funded Voice of America media outlet was also revoked.

A representative of Reuters told RSF that two independent journalists working in Azerbaijan have lost their accreditation under the new government policy, which allows only one accreditation per foreign media outlet,” the organization stated.

Reporters Without Borders highlighted that Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs justified these measures with the “principle of reciprocity,” claiming that it was attempting to balance the number of foreign journalists in the country with that of “Azerbaijani journalists” working abroad. However, the individuals whom Baku presents as “Azerbaijani journalists” are, in fact, representatives of state-controlled media.

“Journalists should not be used as tools in diplomatic conflicts, especially under the false pretext of ‘reciprocity.’ These unfounded decisions are another severe blow to press freedom and are aimed at completely isolating Azerbaijan from foreign oversight. We call on the authorities to immediately restore the revoked accreditations and ensure that foreign media can operate with full editorial independence,” stated Jeanne Cavelier, head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Desk, sharply criticizing the move.

The organization also emphasized that the Azerbaijani government has been increasing pressure not only on foreign media but also on independent press outlets within the country, citing the shutdown of the Turan News Agency as an example.

“The last independent media outlet operating in Azerbaijan, Turan News Agency, was forced to suspend its operations on February 13 under the pretext of ‘economic reasons.’ While the website initially halted its operations, it has now become entirely inaccessible. Targeted cyberattacks and smear campaigns carried out by pro-government media have demonstrated the regime’s determination to suppress independent news dissemination.

These restrictions come against the backdrop of intensified repression against journalists in Azerbaijan following the arrest of Sevinc Vagifgizi, the editor-in-chief of AbzasMedia, in November 2023 for conducting corruption investigations. Currently, 24 journalists are being unjustly held in detention across Azerbaijan—the highest number since Ilham Aliyev came to power in 2003,” the statement noted.

In December of last year, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev harshly criticized U.S. media in an interview with Dmitry Kiselyov, the head of “Rossiya Segodnya.”

“We do not finance media in the United States. So why should they finance our media?! There is no need for that. Through proxy resources such as Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, they constantly smear our people and country and seek to tarnish our victory over Armenia,” Ilham Aliyev stated.

Since the beginning of this year, the number of journalists working for BBC News Azerbaijani and Sputnik-Azerbaijan has been reduced to one per outlet, while the accreditation of Voice of America and Bloomberg correspondents has been revoked.

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs justifies these measures by citing the “principle of reciprocity,” claiming that it seeks to balance the number of foreign journalists in Azerbaijan with that of Azerbaijani journalists working abroad.