Their office was raided, their bank accounts were frozen, their staff was called in for questioning in an going criminal case. On October 8th, IREX DC office officially announced their decision to terminate their activities indefinitely.
IREX was among long-operating international organizations in Azerbaijan. It began its activities in 1997 and since then worked in developing the country’s media, education, Internet, civil society and government. The organization supported a number of exchange programs, established information support centers across the country, and worked extensively with the local NGOs and media outlets while helping them improve their capacity, produce better news reads the
statement
shared by IREX DC headquarters.
The statement also notes IREX commitment in continuing to cooperate with the Ministries of Justice and Taxes and the Prosecutor General’s Office in the on-going investigation.
The decision to stall their activities was made on September 30, 2014.
