Azerbaijan claims BBC Azerbaijan staff are working illegally in the country

APA, a pro-government media source, reports that staff from BBC Azerbaijan have continued working there despite the government's order to shut it down earlier in 2025. APA cites the Azerbaijan Media Development Agency as its source.

The agency stated that doing journalistic work after losing accreditation is a serious legal issue.

APA had asked the agency about reports that ex-BBC Azerbaijan workers were still doing journalism, such as asking groups questions and doing investigations.

The Agency told APA that the BBC isn't allowed to operate in Azerbaijan, so they can stop these illegal actions.

Neither APA nor the agency shared the details of what the employees were doing.

The BBC's Azerbaijani service started in 1994 on radio and later online. Radio broadcasts ended in 2011 when the government stopped foreign stations from broadcasting on FM. Since then, the BBC has focused on its online Azerbaijani content.

In February, there were reports that Azerbaijan would limit the work of Sputnik-Azerbaijan and BBC News Azerbaijani, saying changes were needed to fix problems with how foreign media worked there.

After this, BBC Azerbaijani said it would close its office because of government orders, calling it a restriction on press freedom.