Supreme Court of Belarus: Blogger Lapshin to be extradited to Baku

By Azernews

By Rashid Shirinov

Blogger Alexander Lapshin, who has illegally visited the occupied Azerbaijani territories and entered into criminal conspiracy with Armenians living in the occupied territories, will be extradited to Baku.

The Supreme Court of Belarus has rejected the complaint filed by the blogger’s defendant regarding his extradition to Azerbaijan, the Court told Trend on February 7.

Lapshin, who owns multiple citizenships, was detained in Minsk on December 14 at the request of Azerbaijan. The blogger was declared an international arrest warrant on charges of illegal visit to Nagorno-Karabakh and the actions against the statehood of Azerbaijan.

Deputy prosecutor general of Belarus Alexei Stuk issued a ruling on Lapshin’s extradition to Azerbaijan in late January 2017. Later, the Minsk City Court upheld this decision. The Supreme Court of Belarus is the last instance Lapshin could appeal to against the ruling of the General Prosecutor’s Office.

Lapshin is accused of violating the international laws and the laws of Azerbaijan on the state border and passports in April 2011 and October 2012.

To promote the illegal regime created in the Armenian-occupied Azerbaijani territories, Lapshin presented Nagorno Karabakh as an “independent state” on his page in the social network. Moreover, he expressed support to the “independence” of the unrecognized regime on April 6 and June 29, 2016, by calls aimed at violating the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

Baku has repeatedly warned foreign officials and diplomats of unauthorized visits to its territories that are occupied by Armenia, calling them contradictory to international law.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry and diplomatic missions pay special attention to the illegal activity in the occupied areas of Azerbaijan. The work is constantly carried out to prevent such illegal actions.

Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal, but they have not been enforced to this day.