Armenian authorities have canceled the accreditation of journalist Ilya Azar, a Moscow-based correspondent for Novaya gazeta, after a report he wrote stated scores of lives had been lost in a military conflict that broke out on September 27 in Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azar wrote on Telegram on October 8 that he had received the accreditation specially to cover ongoing developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, where fighting between forces from Azerbaijan and Armenia in and around the breakaway region has surged to its worst level since the 1990s, when some 30,000 people were killed.
Azar also wrote that he was told that "the accreditation had been changed... during the process."
"The unofficial and main reason, as I was clearly hinted at, is my report from [the Nagorno-Karabakh city] Shushi and [the ethnic-Armenian forces-controlled city of] Lachin, which a representative of [the Armenian] Foreign Ministry said had caused a negative public reaction," Azar added.
In his report from the two cities, Azar interviewed local ethnic Armenians, who talked about Azerbaijani bombing of the House of Culture in Shushi, killing hundreds of ethnic-Armenian military and police officers, and criticized Yerevan for giving what they called "false" information about the situation and being unable to provide proper resistance to Baku's offensives.
In 2011, Azerbaijani authorities deemed Azar persona non grata for his journalistic activities in the breakaway region.
Related
Editors' Picks
Top Trending
1
U.S. Advises Israel Against Hitting Iranian Oil Fields
2The Fall Of Vuhledar: What It Means For Ukraine’s Beleaguered Military
3Central Asian Returnees Struggle To Find Work Amid Russia's Record-High Deportations
4Kosovo At The Center Of Europe's Ongoing Hijab Debate
5Iran Braces For Major Blowback After Biggest-Ever Attack On Israel
6The West Doesn't Want Ukraine To Lose But Isn't Ready For It To Win, Says Russia Policy Expert
7Croatia Backs Out Of NATO Ukraine Mission Over National Security Concerns
8Georgian President Refuses To Sign Anti-LGBT Bill Into Law
9Kyiv Investigating 'Largest Mass Execution' Of Ukrainian Soldiers Captured By Russia
10Who Is Hashem Safieddine, The Senior Hezbollah Leader?
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.