Lawyer asks acquittal for blogger Lapshin
By Rashid Shirinov
The trial on blogger Alexander Lapshin, detained in Azerbaijan, continued in the Baku Grave Crimes Court on July 19.
During the trial presided over by judge Alovsat Abbasov, Lapshin’s lawyer Eduard Chernin said that the articles written by the blogger didn’t include appeals against the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and asked the judge to acquit his defendant.
Later, Lapshin was given the last word. He pleaded not guilty and asked the court to make a fair decision.
Earlier, the blogger acknowledged that he visited the occupied Azerbaijani territories twice.
Lapshin 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) 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.
The blogger was arrested in Minsk in late 2016 and transferred to Baku in February 2017.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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