Journalists associations
Journalist associations in Azerbaijan can be divided into three groups: Those supporting the government's media policy, associations that have been separated from the media after political and economic persecution, and organisations that operate individually.
Since 2014, independent media outlets have been exhausted as a result of raids, equipment confiscation, freezing accounts and the de facto closure of several NGOs which owned them. Authorities explained these actions citing supposed violations of law, financial mischief, lack of transparency, corruption and money laundering by non-governmental organisations. NGOs that are loyal to the authorities continue their activities by receiving grants from the NGO Board of the President.
Among the most known journalist associations there are the International Eurasia Press Fund, the Democratic Journalists League, the RUH Azerbaijan Journalists Defence Committee and the Yeni Nesil Journalists' Union of Azerbaijan.
Journalists and other communicators may use the premises of the International Press Centre, which acts as meeting venue for press events. It has three halls with different size and setups and hosts press conferences per charge. The centre only hosts activities that are pro-governmental. Independent organisations have approached the centre several times, but have always been rejected with a “no vacancy" excuse.
The Parlament Jurnalistlər Birliyi (Parliament Journalists Public Union) has the official mission to implement initiatives aimed at raising professionalism and increasing patriotism by bringing together independent journalists.
Baku Press Club’s main purpose is to create a platform where Azerbaijanis living in other countries and working in the field of media, as well as foreign journalists with a professional interest in Azerbaijan can gather.