NGO IREX stops its activities in Azerbaijan

The American NGO IREX (Council for International Researches and Exchanges) has announced the termination of its activities in Azerbaijan, which was launched back in 1998, and the closure of its office in Baku.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 5 employees of the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) of Azerbaijan conducted a search of the IREX Baku office and confiscated all the computers and documents.

The statement issued by the IREX stresses that in the course of its activities in Azerbaijan since 1998 aimed at supporting the development of education, media and Internet infrastructure, it had established close cooperation with various governmental bodies, commercial and non-profit organizations.

Earlier, a number of local online resources in Azerbaijan spread messages that the IREX had been supporting the structures engaged in anti-governmental activities. In its turn, the Azerbaijani representative office of the IREX stated that all its activities had been carried out in accordance with the Azerbaijani legislation and in close coordination with the governmental commission on international humanitarian aid."

Samir Kazymly, the coordinator of the Alliance in Defence of Political Freedoms, has assessed the liquidation of the IREX as the process of squeezing foreign NGOs out of Azerbaijan.

It should be noted here that currently two local NGOs, which had been supported by the IREX, are under investigation, namely, the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) and Media Rights Institute, which were actively engaged in protection of journalists' rights and the freedom of expression in Azerbaijan.