The oil-rich government of Azerbaijan is coming under scrutiny from a prominent natural resources industry watchdog over a crackdown on human rights activists and non-governmental organisations.

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, a voluntary grouping of resources companies, governments and NGOs designed to fight corruption, has sent a delegation to Baku to investigate the situation and may consider suspending Azerbaijan’s membership, according to Jonas Moberg, head of the EITI secretariat...