Leading Russian-language newspaper stopped issue

The newspaper Zerkalo, which is the leading Russian-language edition of Azerbaijan, has stopped the issue for financial reasons.

A few weeks ago the editor Elchin Shikhli reported that he would turn the daily release into a weekly also for financial reasons. One reason for this was the arrest of the newspaper’s leading columnist Rauf Mirkadirov on trumped-up charges of espionage in favor of Armenia.

Immediately thereafter, the State Fund in Support of the Media stopped funding the newspaper, which put it in an extremely complex situation.

The newspaper with circulation of 8,000 copies will work as an Internet publication. How long it will last and whether the newspaper will return to the previous state is difficult to say. There is no doubt that to do so without serious financial support will be impossible.

Discontinuation of the Zerkalo comes amid loud statements from the authorities about the prosperity of the media in Azerbaijan, the rule of law and freedom of expression and security of journalists. However, the authorities do not mention the fact that all those, who disagree with the official propaganda or dare to have an independent opinion, face the fate of the Zerkalo paper. – 02B –