Azerbaijani mission: Lapshin’s case is not OSCE issue
By Rashid Shirinov
It is necessary to continue inclusive approach while observing media-related developments in all OSCE participating states in a comprehensive, objective and impartial manner.
Azerbaijan’s Permanent Mission to the OSCE stressed this in its statement at a meeting of Permanent Council on March 9.
“OSCE institutions must act strictly in line with their mandate and tasking given by the participating states,” says the statement. “In this regard, we recall Brussels (2006) and Madrid (2007) Ministerial Council decisions that specifically call to ensure professionalism, accuracy and adherence to ethical standards among journalists."
The Mission noted that the importance of this aspect is even more acute in the context of reporting on conflict situations, as their sensitive nature requires highest level of professionalism and ethics of journalists.
As for the Alexander Lapshin case, which was referred to by representative of Armenia, this is not an issue for the OSCE, said the Azerbaijani mission, adding that this criminal case was addressed between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Belarus on bilateral basis.
“Mr. Lapshin is a citizen of several states and they, as a third party in this case, follow legal developments. Armenia has no relevance to this legal case, except that Lapshin’s case once again indicated that Armenia fraudulently attracts foreign nationals to illegal visits to Azerbaijan’s occupied territories and then tries to turn them into a tool for its political propaganda,” says the statement.
The Azerbaijani Permanent Mission once again called on journalists and foreign citizens to refrain from illegal visits to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan without prior consent.
Lapshin will stand trial in Baku for his illegal visits to the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. The blogger, who owns citizenships of several countries, 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. He was arrested in Belarus and later was extradited from Minsk to Baku.
Currently, the blogger is in custody in Baku Investigative Prison No. 1. Representatives of the Russian and Israeli Embassies in Baku as well as Lapshin’s lawyer have numerously affirmed that the blogger has no complaints about the conditions of detention.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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