Azerbaijan’s Media Council: Claims on ex-BND chief are disinformation

Azerbaijan's Media and Broadcasting Council has called disinformation the claims circulating in several foreign media that link Azerbaijan to the investigation into the former head of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND), August Hanning. The council's statement was published on October 7, 2026.

The statement notes that the information was initially reported by the German outlet Der Spiegel, after which it was repeated by Reuters, AFP, France 24, The Times, The Telegraph and other international media.

According to the statement, presenting unfounded claims linking Azerbaijan to this investigation as fact to a wide audience is a cause of serious concern, and publishing such material without reference to an official source is regarded as impermissible information manipulation.

"The information spread by several foreign media outlets within the framework of the investigation connected to the former head of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND), August Hanning, in which Azerbaijan is mentioned, is disinformation and is assessed as part of an intensive campaign of defamation being waged against Azerbaijan in recent times."

"The low aim of the forces behind this disinformation operation is to damage Azerbaijani-German relations, which have recently seen further development. The Media and Broadcasting Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan resolutely condemns such disinformation campaigns aimed at presenting Azerbaijan unjustifiably in a negative context in the international information space, and calls on international media entities to seriously observe the basic principles of professional journalism, including accuracy, objectivity, reference to reliable sources and verification of information, and not to allow the spread of false information and the manipulation of public opinion."

Source: apa.az

Prepared by:Yulduz Salimov