The International Press Institute (IPI) global network today condemns the latest arrest of an independent journalist in Azerbaijan, Nurlan Libre (Gakhramanli), who was detained and placed in pre-trial detention on politically motivated charges of ‘smuggling foreign currency’.
Separately, on February 20, Azerbaijani authorities ordered the suspension of operations at the BBC office in Baku. Several days later, the correspondent accreditation of Voice of America (VoA) in Azerbaijan was also revoked.
“Authorities in Azerbaijan must immediately release Nurlan Libre, as well as his eight colleagues from Meydan TV who were previously arrested on trumped-up charges,” said IPI Eastern Europe Advocacy Lead Karol Łuczka. “By suspending the operations of the BBC and Voice of America in Azerbaijan, authorities in Baku have shown their contempt for independent reporting. We demand the reversal of this decision.”
Arrest of Nurlan Libre
On February 20, Azerbaijani police detained Nurlan Libre, who had been reporting for the exiled media outlet Meydan TV over the past two months, according to Orkhan Mammad, a Meydan TV journalist who spoke to IPI.
After searching Libre’s home, the police placed him under arrest. The following day, a court in Baku ordered that he remain in pre-trial detention for 1 month and 17 days. The detention is likely to be extended at a new court hearing before the end of this period. Libre is accused of currency smuggling, a charge which has regularly been used against journalists in Azerbaijan since late 2023.
In these cases, authorities appear to use the fact that independent outlets had received foreign financing through legally obtained grants to accuse their journalists of currency smuggling.
While Libre and other journalists did not publish for Meydan TV under their names, authorities were able to identify the journalist as a correspondent for the outlet, given that only a small number of independent journalists continue to report from politically significant events in Baku, Mammad explained to IPI.
In detention, Libre was reportedly mistreated, while access to his family and lawyers was limited, Mammad added.
Libre would face up to eight years in prison if found guilty under article 206.3.2 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan, which penalizes ‘smuggling by a group of persons in prior collusion’.
His arrest comes after that of eight other Meydan TV journalists, also on charges of ‘smuggling foreign currency’.
Closures of foreign media offices
In a separate development, authorities ordered the Azerbaijani service of the BBC to suspend its operations in Baku, according to a statement by the British public broadcaster.
The BBC is known for running several dozen foreign language services, including an Azerbaijani service with in-country correspondents.
In its statement, the BBC said that it was seeking clarification from the government having only received a verbal instruction.
Meanwhile, the BBC said it had made the “reluctant decision” to close its Baku office. The broadcaster did not provide additional information on what could have motivated the decision.
On February 24, Azerbaijani authorities also suspended the correspondent accreditation of Voice of America (VoA), a U.S. state-funded broadcaster which also publishes news in several dozen languages.
According to a spokesperson of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, VoA would only be allowed to keep one correspondent in Azerbaijan going forward. The same rule would apply to Rossiya Segodnya, a Russian state-controlled propaganda outlet which also saw its operations in Azerbaijan halted on the same day.
No additional information was available on the decision, which VoA are not known to have commented on.
As of February 2025, IPI is aware of at least 26 journalists arrested over the past year in Azerbaijan on trumped-up charges such as currency smuggling and extortion. Many of those have reportedly faced torture and other mistreatment while in detention. Teymur Kerimov, the director of Kanal 11, for example, was beaten in custody in 2023.
