Azerbaijan suspends local BBC News office
Baku has ordered the suspension of the BBC News Azerbaijani office, allowing only one journalist to remain active in the country, the BBC said on Feb. 20.
The British broadcaster confirmed that it had taken the "reluctant decision" to close the office following verbal instructions from the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.
Azerbaijani authorities did not disclose reasons for the decisions but said their steps are always "guided by the principle of reciprocity in all its decisions and relations with the media of foreign countries."
Observers have pointed to deteriorating freedom of the press in the South Caucasus state, which Reporters Without Borders ranked 164th out of 180 countries last year.
"We deeply regret this restrictive move against press freedom, which will hinder our ability to report to and from Azerbaijan for our audiences inside and outside the country," the BBC said in a statement.
The BBC News Azerbaijani has been in operation since 1994, providing Azerbaijani-language news to roughly 1 million people weekly via radio and online platforms, the news agency said.
Chris York
