Azerbaijan's media agency clarifies legal status of BBC activities in country

Reports have emerged suggesting that former employees of the BBC representative office, which was suspended in Azerbaijan, continue to engage in journalistic activities in the country, as well as addressing inquiries to various organisations and conducting investigations.

In response to an inquiry from APA, the Legal Department of the Media Development Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan provided clarification on the matter, Caliber.Az reports.

According to the agency, under the Law "On Media," branches and representative offices of foreign media entities in Azerbaijan can only operate when provided for by international agreements to which Azerbaijan is a party.

"If a representative office of any foreign media entity carries out media activities without such an agreement, this constitutes a basis for the liquidation of that representative office,” the agency said.

At the same time, according to the agency, foreign media representatives must be accredited by the relevant body in order to operate in the Republic of Azerbaijan.

"With regard to the activities of the BBC representation, we should note that since there is no international agreement that provides for the operation of that entity in Azerbaijan, the representation was liquidated by the relevant authorities and removed from the state register of legal entities, and the accreditation of its employees was also revoked. This means that currently there is no legal basis for the activities of the BBC representation in Azerbaijan, and consequently, since the relevant representation is not considered a media entity under national legislation and its employees do not have accreditation, the activities of those persons in this area are a serious violation of the law, and do not create any obligations for the individuals and legal entities and organizations to which this activity is directed, but on the contrary, give those structures the right to demand the cessation of illegal activities," the agency said in a statement.