Azerbaijani Authorities Ban Journalist Ruslan Suleymanov from Re‑Entering the Country

Ruslan Suleymanov

The Azerbaijani government declined to renew the permanent residence permit of Ruslan Suleymanov, an orientalist and journalist, and has barred him from entering the country for a year. Suleymanov shared this news on his Telegram channel.

Suleymanov, an ethnic Azerbaijani with Russian citizenship, has lived in Baku since 2022, renewing his residence and work permit annually. He reports that this year, Azerbaijani authorities waited until the last minute to announce they would not extend his PRT.

The journalist stated, "This year, my Russian passport was the deciding factor." Following the decision, he applied for a visa to a European country. But his PRT in Azerbaijan expired during this process. As he left the country, he received a fine of about $250 and a one-year ban from Azerbaijan.

Suleymanov thinks that more ethnic Azerbaijanis with Russian passports are facing similar situations this year.

He wrote, "Sadly, Azerbaijan does not need IT experts, doctors, scholars, or journalists. People ready to work for the country's advantage are being expelled."

Ruslan Suleymanov is a Middle East expert who writes for several Russian and international news outlets. Before 2022, he worked as the Middle East correspondent for TASS in Cairo. Suleymanov left the agency to protest the military intervention in Ukraine and relocated to Baku.

While in Azerbaijan, he worked with CBC television and was a guest expert at the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy (ADA University). In October 2025, the Russian Ministry of Justice designated Suleymanov as a foreign agent.