US Embassy responds to AZTV criticism

Last Sunday, the state TV channel AZTV broadcast another story about the ‘malicious’ activities of the US against Azerbaijan.

The director of this TV channel claimed that the ‘Biden administration, which is reaching its last days’ is using the human rights factor to attack Azerbaijan, showing ‘cowardice.’

‘Are you angry that we destroyed your perennial web that operated under the guise of media?’ the head of AZTV said, addressing US Secretary of State Blinken.

In view of these accusations, the U.S. Embassy in Baku published the following response on its page:

‘International criticism of the government's suppression of free media and civil society is the result of only one thing: the government's suppression of free media and civil society.

The fact is that nearly three dozen journalists and bloggers have been arrested since November 2023. Is it actual ‘cowardice’ to try to distract the Azerbaijani public from this fact?

This is Media Literacy Week, remember to seek out a variety of sources of information, question narratives and remain vigilant not to be misled.’