Authorities Once Again Want to Close Newspaper Azadlig

The leading opposition newspaper of the country, Azadlig, once again faces the threat of closure because of the debt to the state publishing house Azerbaijan.

Yesterday the newspaper received a letter that if till September 21 the debts are not paid, the edition of the newspaper will be discontinued. The publisher requires paying 19,220 manat for publishing services and 1,065 manat for utilities.

However, the newspaper has been put in an impossible position on the fault of government agencies. In particular, the firm monopolist of press distribution Gasid led by a member of parliament from the ruling party New Azerbaijan refuses to pay Azadlig 70,000 manat - the money for the sale of the newspaper for several years.

Authorities banned distribution of the newspaper and the state does not pay the company the money from the sale of publications. Because of this, the staff has not been paid for months and the newspaper cannot function normally.

In addition, the government allocates huge funds to pro-government publications completely unreadable, calling it state support to the media. At the same time, the same State Media Fund has deprived most readable and the country's largest daily newspaper of even minimal support.

"In this way, it has created a situation where the newspaper is deprived of all possibilities for normal activity," the report says.

For many years, the authorities have carried out pressure against the newspaper, trying to strangle or reject criticism.

Recall that Azadlig is the first independent newspaper of modern Azerbaijan. It was founded on December 24, 1988. -03D-