“GEGHARD”
SCIENTIFIC ANALYTICAL
FOUNDATION
2025
2025
2024-09-13
The Media Development Agency (MEDİA), which is actually established to restrict the activities of independent media in Azerbaijan, was founded in 2021. Ilham Aliyev ordered the agency to draft the "Media Law," which was approved by the Azerbaijani Parliament in December 2021 and signed into law by the country's president in February 2022. With the adoption of this law, the persecution of journalists intensified.
In Azerbaijan, this law was approved very quickly without prior discussion. This allows the Azerbaijani authorities to control not only the activities of news websites and journalists, but also bloggers, YouTube channel administrators (moderators), and all those who create public content.
According to the law, a general registry of mass media was created in Azerbaijan, where upon registration, the media outlet must provide details of the founder, editors, and journalists. Those who do not have higher education, are incapacitated, do not reside in Azerbaijan and are not citizens of that country, or have had previous convictions cannot register or establish a media outlet. With the latter point, the Azerbaijani authorities are trying to further restrict the activities of journalists who have been notable for their criticism of the authorities and for exposing their crimes, thereby subjecting themselves to imprisonment.
All media outlets that are not registered in the media registry do not receive a license, are not considered media, and their employees are not considered journalists. This, in turn, creates new restrictions on access to and dissemination of information. In 2024, the Media Development Agency applied to court with claims to block several websites because these sites had not been registered. Without a certificate, a person cannot participate in state events, press conferences, they may not be allowed to conduct street surveys or cover protests. This, in turn, not only creates problems for online resources but also for Azerbaijani media outlets operating outside of Azerbaijan (for example, 'Meydan TV').
By the way, using state registration as a means of control is a common practice in Azerbaijan. The authorities apply the same approach to religious communities: those not registered are considered illegal.
Registration in the registry is not the only issue. According to the law, journalist is a person who works in a media outlet, must have an employment contract, and whose main activity is the continuous collection, preparation, editing and production, transmission of information, as well as expression of opinion (commentary) for the purpose of getting income. This, in turn, means that to be considered a journalist, a person is obliged to have a contract, which limits freelance journalistic activities.
"I won't be able to work normally anymore," says journalist Fatima Movlamly. "Let's suppose I'm covering an event (it was already difficult, the police were hindering), and this draft law essentially gives the police legal grounds to lawfully beat me and break my camera."
On the other hand, additional restrictions have also been created for online platforms. For example, a platform that publishes fewer than 20 materials per day will not be considered an active online media outlet.
According to Mehman Aliyev, head of the opposition 'Turan' website, the process of establishing control over the media was completed by the Azerbaijani authorities 10 years ago. However, under these conditions, Azerbaijani civil society began to use social networks as a means of expression, which is now being restricted by the adoption of the new law.
''It provides the state with all the crucial regulatory mechanisms: from defining who can engage in legal journalism to issuing a license for online media by executive bodies. The requirement for online media licenses goes against the idea of internet freedom,'' Mehman Aliyev said.
The law also creates new obstacles for those engaged in investigative journalism. For example, secret recordings are also prohibited. The use of such materials is allowed only in cases where the person who was secretly recorded or photographed has given written consent for the use or distribution of these materials, or if there is court permission. Thus, the authorities are also insuring themselves in elections, preventing the exposure of electoral fraud.
"I have used drones to film officials' mansions. I have been regularly taken to the police station and accused of 'invading a private space.' Now, they are practically banning covert filming by law. It will also be more difficult to cover election violations. It is now impossible to spread photos, videos, or audio recordings of individuals violating the law, as covert filming is prohibited. First, the journalist will be held accountable for breaking the law, and second, state agencies will not consider it evidence because the recording was made secretly," - opposition journalist Mehman Huseynov stated on this matter.
Since 2014, Azerbaijan has severely restricted foreign funding for media outlets and NGOs. Moreover, the new law completely prohibits receiving foreign funding if the physical or legal person providing that funding is not one of the heads or members of the media outlet. Based on this point, a hunt for journalists has subsequently begun in Azerbaijan, accusing them of smuggling (see 'Press Freedom in Azerbaijan: Part 2').
According to media expert Alasgar Mammadli, this document is a trump card in the hands of the authorities, which they will use against independent media whenever they want. And if previously repression against journalists had to be somewhat disguised, now the legislation itself will open up new opportunities for such repression.
Finally, the adoption of this law in Azerbaijan violates numerous international norms. Despite numerous organizations calling on Azerbaijan not to adopt the law, Baku not only adopted it but has, in fact, already carried out a number of prosecutions based on it.