Azerbaijani agency Turan suspends its activities

The “Turan” news agency has suspended its activities because of financial difficulties. The editorial staff intends to return to work in a different format.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on August 24, 2017, Mekhman Aliev, the director of the “Turan” news agency, was detained on the charge of illegal entrepreneurship and tax evasion. On November 2, 2017, the case was closed. Mekhman Aliev believes that the case was closed due to the support the “Turan” news agency received domestically and abroad from the Council of Europe (CE), the US Department of State, and international human rights and journalistic organizations.

“During more than 30 years, the ‘Turan’ news agency has been a pillar of independent journalism in Azerbaijan, presenting unbiased reports in conditions of political and economic instability ... However, today, we must face the inescapable reality: due to constant financial constraints, we can no longer maintain our news operations in their current form,” the “Turan” news agency reports on its website.

At the same time, Mekhman Aliev has expressed his gratitude to readers and promised that the “Turan” news agency’s activities would be continued in a different form.