Lapshin's lawyer: Blogger may not be extradited to any country before court decision
By Rashid Shirinov
Blogger Alexander Lapshin, who will stand trial in Baku for his illegal visits to the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, cannot be extradited to any of countries, whose citizenship he owns, until a court decision.
Lapshin’s lawyer Safar Huseynov, talking to Trend, said that the extradition is impossible for now.
Blogger Lapshin, who owns citizenships of Russia, Israel and Ukraine, illegally visited Azerbaijan`s Armenia-occupied lands and now is charged under the articles 281.2 (appeals directed against state) and 318.2 (illegal border crossing) articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. He violated Azerbaijani laws on state border in April 2011 and October 2012.
Helped by his accomplices in the occupied territories, Lapshin, paid a number of visits to Azerbaijan`s occupied lands, where he voiced support for "independence" of the illegal regime, and made public calls against Azerbaijan`s internationally recognized territorial integrity on April 6 and June 29, 2016.
In early February, Lapshin was extradited from Minsk to Baku to stand trial in Azerbaijan.
The lawyer further added that the investigation into the criminal case initiated against Lapshin continues, and the case will be taken to the court on completion of the investigation.
“After the adjudication, the issue of transferring him to one of the countries of his citizenship can be considered. Before the court decision, Lapshin may not be extradited to any country,” Huseynov said.
The lawyer added that Lapshin’s family members have not addressed him so far. “His family needs to contact Embassy to meet him; after that, the members of his family can contact me through the Embassy,” Huseynov said.
Earlier, representatives of the Russian and Israeli embassies in Azerbaijan met with Lapshin. After the meeting, the embassies confirmed that Lapshin has no complaints about conditions of detention.
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.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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