Azerbaijan: Opposition and media representatives respond to international organizations' shutdown

Reactions to Azerbaijan’s shutdown of international organisations

Azerbaijani opposition figures and media representatives have commented on the closure of international organizationsand the revocation of accreditation for international media in Azerbaijan.

Among the organizations ceasing operations are the Azerbaijani branch of Transparency International, the Anti-Corruption Public Association “Transparency Azerbaijan“, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) mission, and Erasmus+, the EU’s largest educational exchange program.

Additionally, in early March, the pro-government outlet Caliber reported that the Presidential Administration had decided to shut down several UN agencies operating in Azerbaijan. Another government-affiliated media outlet, APA, later suggested that these moves reflected new geopolitical realities and a decline in the effectiveness of cooperation with what it called outdated organizations.

Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani authorities have also revoked the accreditation of correspondents from BBC News, Sputnik, Bloomberg, and Voice of America.

Opposition: Azerbaijani authorities exploit global trends to their advantage

Isa Gambar: “The authorities want to limit Azerbaijan’s ties with the modern world”

The leader of the opposition Musavat Party, Isa Gambar, told JAMnews that Azerbaijan’s authoritarian governmentwill take any steps necessary to maintain full control over society and restrict its activity.

He noted that the Azerbaijani authorities are inspired by the U.S. president’s course of reducing America’s global engagement and halting projects presented by the U.S. to other countries. As a result, they have chosen to shut down international organizations, Western institutions, and projects within the country, a move that does not align with Azerbaijan’s interests.

“There may be topics open for discussion. However, the termination of a project like Erasmus, which enables Azerbaijani youth to study at leading European universities and strengthens the country’s scientific and educational ties with the world, will have a particularly negative impact on the level of education. This is a very harmful step.”

The party leader also noted that similar concerns could be raised regarding the closure of Transparency International’s operations in Azerbaijan:

“To be honest, this organization does not combat corruption in the country. It is a monitoring body that studies public opinion and plays an important role in assessing corruption levels worldwide. But it has not been involved in reducing corruption.”

“The shutdown of all these organizations is wrong, but the closure of Erasmus is a significant loss and yet another misguided step by the authorities. They should reconsider this decision and take measures to compensate for it.”

“Azerbaijani authorities are not only seeking to monopolize the economy but also other spheres, restricting public activity and the country’s ties with the modern world,” said Isa Gambar.

According to him, this approach will not shield the Azerbaijani government from both fair and unfair criticism by international organizations.

Ahmed Mammadli: “If it is no longer beneficial, Azerbaijan may withdraw from the jurisdiction of the Council of Europe and the ECHR”

Human rights activist Ahmed Mammadli stated in an interview with JAMnews that current developments indicate Ilham Aliyev is exploiting global events for his own interests:

“This has always been the case. Aliyev now sees that the Trump administration in the U.S. aligns with his interests, while right-wing forces are coming to power in Europe and will be preoccupied with their own problems. That is why he is revoking media accreditations and shutting down the offices of international organizations.”

According to human rights activist Ahmed Mammadli, Ilham Aliyev views the West solely in terms of trade and technology, avoiding any mention of human rights in his speeches:

“He wants to see the West only as a trade organization. When speaking about the West, Aliyev talks exclusively about trade relations and technological cooperation, without mentioning human rights.”

Mammadli believes that Aliyev does not even want those who partially cooperate with him to remain in the country:

“It is clear that Aliyev seeks to fully capitalize on the opportunities available to him after the war in Karabakh, both domestically and internationally. This is the reason for the ongoing pressure.”

“He is confident that the U.S. will not impose sanctions against him and that European countries like Italy and Hungary will support him. If it is no longer beneficial, Azerbaijan may withdraw from the jurisdiction of the Council of Europe and the ECHR.”

The human rights activist believes this process will continue until the very end. He warns that even individuals and organizations that are currently inactive may face arrest in the future.

Editor: “We do not want to depend on the political decisions of the Azerbaijani government”

Orkhan Mamed, editor of Meydan TV, whose nine employees have been arrested and whose website is blocked in Azerbaijan, believes that the crackdown, which began with the arrests of AbzasMedia staff, is nearing its conclusion. In his view, Azerbaijan no longer wants any organization linked to the West to operate in the country and is burning all bridges with the West.

Speaking about the state of independent journalism in the country, Meydan TV editor Orkhan Mamed stated that media operations within Azerbaijan have been effectively shut down:

“For the past 10 days, Meydan TV has been almost paralyzed. For the first time, we are unable to publish materials from Azerbaijan. In the future, we will prioritize citizen journalism. But the current situation does not promise anything good.”

He does not believe that Azerbaijan will turn into another North Korea or Turkmenistan, but he argues that the country is taking its own unique path:

“There were repressions in 2014 as well—the country closed itself off, but then reopened.”

“As a journalist, I cannot make political predictions, but it is clear that even if Azerbaijan reopens in the future, working with grants and NGOs will never be the same.”

“We do not want to depend on the political decisions of the Azerbaijani government, which is why we are taking steps to ensure our long-term sustainability.”

Orkhan believes that the ongoing crackdown will severely impact the quality of Azerbaijani journalism:

“The decline began with the attack on AbzasMedia and continues to worsen.”

“I don’t think the authorities will choose to block social media because they also use it for their own propaganda. So even if media operations are banned within the country, we will continue working entirely from abroad—just as independent Russian media have done for the past two years.”

Government representatives did not respond to our inquiries regarding the closure of international organizations and the revocation of media accreditations.

Reminder

Since late 2023, following the arrests of Abzas Media staff, more than 20 journalists from Abzas Media, Toplum TV, and Meydan TV have been detained, and their editorial offices shut down.

As part of this crackdown, accreditations for international media organizations operating in the country have been revoked, and their offices closed.

Additionally, Transparency International, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the European Union’s largest educational program, Erasmus+, have ceased their operations in Azerbaijan.