Azadliq Radio Baku Bureau Sealed Shut

Daniel Baer, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe tweets about RFE/RL Baku bureau raid

Azerbaijani MP says international reaction biased

MP Fazail Aghamali and the chairman of Ana Vatan [Motherland] party said he was confident there was a reason behind the raid and that international response was biased as always.

"I am fully confident that this search is based on significant and specific facts. But, as always, without waiting for the completion of the investigation and facts submitted to the court, different international organizations have once again shown their traditional approach in relation to Azerbaijan".

Yesterday December 28, a number of Azadliq Radio staff were interviewed by Voice Of America in the aftermath of questioning at the Grave Crimes Investigation Unit at the Prosecutor General's Office.

Here are some of the videos in their original and translations below.

​Zeynal Mammadli coordinator and editor in chief of Azadliq Radio Baku Bureau

VOA. How do you evaluate the questioning of local staff as well as freelance contributors to the radio? How many people were questioned so far?

ZM. from the information I have a minimum of 12 people were questioned already

Of course I would have liked to evaluate these events as part of a normal procedure but I must try very hard to see in order for this to happy - unfortunately all this noise, the threats, calling into questioning without any notice, not letting them use lawyers and etc. is not what a normal procedure would look like.

We are journalists and our job is not to cover things up but to reveal things. That’s what we do and we know what we are doing.

Right now there is this feeling of worry. I am worried about my colleagues. I am worried about their life after this – their salaries, their living, some of them have bank credits, some mortgage. Losing their jobs is going to be difficult. So I am worried not only on a social but also professional level for them.

VOA. Is there any discussion about re-opening of the office these days?

ZM. No, no one is saying anything about this. Even though when they first came is they told us none of this is going to cause interruptions in our work. But after that they sealed shut our office.

VOA. how much of equipment and documents was confiscated?

ZM. I don’t have the exact list, our lawyer has it but mostly they have taken our financial documents, memory cards.

VOA. Why do you think, you and others were questioned?

ZM. you see there is this general information – because of NGOs. Personally I would like to find the connection between an NGO and Azadliq Radio. I am assuming and this is my personal understanding is that here representatives of foreign media outlets are perceived as NGOs but again this is my personal interpretation. But this is whats disturbing, this unknowingness and this fear that’s created around it.

Watch the rest of the videos here.