New York /18.08.17/Turan: Azerbaijani authorities should stop harassing Turan, the country's only independent news agency, and should allow it to work without fear of reprisal, the New York based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said.
"The Azerbaijani government has repeatedly used politically motivated criminal charges as a weapon to silence independent and opposition media," CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said. "We call on Azerbaijani authorities to drop the politically motivated investigation into Turan news agency and to stop trying to intimidate independent journalists with legal harassment."
According to media reports, tax officials raided Turan"s newsroom in the capital Baku on August 16, confiscated the agency's financial documents, and searched reporters" computers and personal belongings, as part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion. Authorities allege that Turan owes 37,000 manats (US$21,500) in back taxes for the period 2014-2016. The Agency appealed the decision of the Ministry of Taxes in court. -16D06-
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