12-27-14
Reuters is reporting that Azerbaijani authorities raided and closed the bureau of the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty to silence one of the country's last independent media outlets. Station editor Nenad Pejic told Reuters the raid was a flagrant violation of every international commitment and standard Azerbaijan has pledged to uphold. "The order comes from the top as retaliation for our reporting and as a thuggish effort to silence RFE/RL." The station, which began during the Cold War by broadcasting into Russia, is funded by the United States. Police ordered employees into a room while they ransacked a company safe and confiscated documents.
