Law enforcement detains multiple individuals in raid on Sputnik-Azerbaijan UPDATED

Azerbaijan’s Interior Ministry has released an update regarding a special operation conducted at the Baku office of Sputnik-Azerbaijan, a branch of the Russian MIA "Russia Today" (RT).

The operation was initiated following intelligence indicating that the agency continued to operate despite the suspension of its accreditation due to allegations of illegal financing, Azerbaijan’s Interior Ministry told Caliber.Az.

Acting on this information, authorities launched an inspection to investigate the ongoing activities of the agency.

On June 30, law enforcement officials carried out a series of operational and investigative measures at the agency’s premises. The Ministry confirmed that several individuals were detained during the operation.

The Interior Ministry has pledged to provide further details as the investigation progresses.

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A special operation is currently underway at the Baku office of the Sputnik Azerbaijan news agency.

Police forces have taken control of the agency’s office, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

The move comes following earlier decisions to suspend the agency’s operations. Despite the official suspension, it has now been revealed that Sputnik Azerbaijan continued functioning with employees still showing up for work.

In February 2025, Caliber.Az obtained exclusive information revealing Azerbaijan’s decision to rebalance the presence of foreign media outlets operating within the country. This initiative specifically targeted the operations of Sputnik Azerbaijan, a branch of the Russian MIA "Russia Today" (RT), and the BBC’s Azerbaijani service.

To address a disparity in media representation between Azerbaijan and Russia, the Azerbaijani government mandated that the number of Russian state media correspondents working in Azerbaijan be equal to the number of Azerbaijani state media correspondents operating in Russia. Currently, this translates to just one correspondent each.

Sputnik Azerbaijan, which employed approximately 40 staff members in Baku, was ordered to close its branch. RT’s activities in Azerbaijan were to be limited to a single correspondent operating under Azerbaijani law and the bilateral agreement on media correspondents signed in 2001.

Despite these earlier restrictions, recent reports indicate that Sputnik Azerbaijan continued some level of operation, prompting the authorities to conduct a special police operation and take control of the agency’s Baku office.