The law enforcement authorities in Belarus have made a decision to extradite the blogger jailed after a recent visit to Nagorno-Karabakh.
A deputy prosecutor general has met the request by the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s office, agreeing to embark on the necessary procedures to hand over Alexander Lapshin to Baku.
Azerbaijan earlier blacklisted Lapshin, a citizen of Israel and Russia, for visiting the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The blogger then conducted a second trip to Baku, using a Ukrainian passport as a travel document.
In his blog, he later criticized Azerbaijan, highlighting the problems encountered during the visit.
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The blogger is now going to face prosecution over “public appeals against state” and “illegal border crossing” (Articles 281.2 and 318.2 of Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code), Ara Zohrabyan, the president of the Armenian Chamber of Advocates, says in a post on Facebook.
In a justification enclosed to its decision, the General Prosecutor’s Office of Belarus cited the legal grounds allowing for extradition. It said particularly that extradition is legal whenever the crime committed is found punishable beyond reasonable doubt and is subject to imprisonment for more than a year.
“Alexander Lapshin is not a Belurusian citizen. There are no legislative obstacles in either Azerbaijan or Belarus to rule out his extradition to the Republic of Azerbaijan,” reads the document.
The decision can be appealed within 10 days after being issued.
According to Zohrabyan, it hasn’t yet been submitted to Lepshin’s lawyers.
The president of the Chamber says they have created a special working group to deal with the issue and provide the necessary aid within their power. “Alexander Lapshin needs our protection,” Zohrabyan said.
