Visa regime toughened for foreign journalists in Azerbaijan

Several foreign journalists who applied for visas at Azerbaijan’s embassies abroad faced unexpected problems. The embassies said they should submit the articles they had written on Azerbaijan so far and also asked them why their newspaper or TV channel had released negative information on Azerbaijan.


If the fact of a “negative report” is proved, the journalist will not obtain a visa or will face new problems. A well-known western journalist who faced a problem of this sort has informed Turan about it, also naming another well-known reporter “interrogated” in one of Azerbaijan’s embassies about his loyalty to Azerbaijan’s authorities, the aims of his planned visit to Azerbaijan, the exact plans, and the people with whom the reporter was going to meet in Baku.“All this is rather stupid and ridiculous.

In the 21st century, you can sit in Australia and interview somebody located in London, Moscow or Baku, or you can watch live Internet broadcasting on something that is happening elsewhere in the world. So such selection and restrictions for journalists will not achieve anything. On the contrary, we come to Azerbaijan to highlight the views of both the authorities and the opposition. If the officials think they will manage to prevent negative or critical articles in this way, they are absolutely wrong. The most recent case of a 5-year-old girl arrested during the rally was a prime example. Foreign journalists not in the place at the moment, but the entire world observed this shameful event,” the journalist said.

“The only thing that Azerbaijan’s authorities will achieve from this is that our articles will not include their opinions or comments, because they do not want to contact us. I do not think it is good for your officials,” the correspondent said.The recent rallies have increased the interest of the international press in Azerbaijan. But the officials are not pleased with this, and the deportation of a Swedish TV team from Azerbaijan this week just proved their negative attitude.However, the regime was first toughened earlier, after Ilham Aliyev’s notorious interview with Euro News TV, when the President was asked uncomfortable questions about the violation of democracy and human rights and freedoms, and the monarchy-like regime in Azerbaijan.

After that, foreign journalists applying for an interview with Ilham Aliyev were prohibited from asking questions on these subjects.The Azerbaijani authorities also compiled a list of international institutions undesirable to them (with which they do not want to meet, or to which they do not want to give interviews, because their reports include criticism of Azerbaijan).If this continues, Azerbaijan’s authorities will only be able to give interviews to Azerbaijan State Television.