Beware! Thinking people!

Institute for Reporters Freedom and Safety (IRFS) made a statement in which it strongly condemned the April 10 closing of the office of the University of Free Thought (Azad Fikir Universiteti, AFU) by the prosecutors.

The statement reads: “The raid on the office of the Free Thought University (Azad Fikir Universiteti, or AFU) followed by its closure constitutes an unprecedented assault on Azerbaijan’s civil society. Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) strongly condemns the move, and calls for authorities to re-open AFU and release confiscated property immediately.

“The move is yet another heavy blow to freedom of expression in Azerbaijan”, – comments IRFS CEO and Chair Emin Huseynov. “It is a political decision and clearly illustrates that the authorities do not care about civil society. It sends the wrong signal and will not go unnoticed by the international community”, – he said.

AFU is an alternative education project implemented by the OL Movement, which is very popular amongst progressive youth. As stated on its website, AFU’s mission is to provide an environment where the youth can freely get together, develop their knowledge, acquire democratic values, share their experience, in short enrich their student life.

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