The head of a Baku-based journalism advocacy group claims that a probe by the Azerbaijani Justice Ministry into his organization’s work is politically motivated, Eurasianet e-source informs Nov. 2.

Director of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety Emin Huseynov told the “Kavkazsky Uzel” news service that the process aims “to paralyze the work of our organization”.

“He went on to suggest that during the run-up to the 2010 parliamentary elections, Azerbaijani officials will crack down on non-governmental watchdog groups.

In late October, the Ministry of Justice started probing the activities of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety. Officials said the probe was a part of a routine check on the work of non-governmental organizations,” Eurasianet reads.