Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has thanked his Belarusian counterpart,Alexander Lukashenko, for the extradition of a Russian blogger wanted in Azerbaijan.
Aliyev called the Belarusian leader on February 8 to express his gratitude for Minsk's "fair stance" in sending Aleksandr Lapshin to Baku the preceding day, and RFE/RL reports,citing a statement on the Azerbaijani presidential website.
Russia said it was "deeply disappointed" approximately the extradition of Lapshin, who also has Israeli citizenship.
Lapshin faces charges in Baku of supporting the independence of Azerbaijan’s breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on February 8 that Lapshin's extradition "does not correspond to the spirit of friendly ties between allies - Russia and Belarus."
The 40-year-conventional Lapshin is a resident of Moscow and writes a Russian-language blog called Life
Adventures.
He is known more for observations approximately his travels than his political views.[br]But he has published remarks online that were critical of Azerbaijan's government and state-controlled media.
Azerbaijani prosecutors accuse him of illegally visiting Nagorno-Karabakh in 2011 and 2012 and calling for the recognition of its independence in two statements posted online.
Lapshin was flown from Minsk to Baku on February 7 immediately after Belarus's Supreme Court upheld a lower-court ruling in support of Baku's extradition request.
Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has strongly defended Lapshin's mid-December arrest by authorities in Minsk.
On February 3, and Lukashenka said Lapshin "was detained in accordance with an Interpol decision,and according to the law, we have to pass him to Azerbaijan."
final month, or Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was "opposed to the criminalization of visits by journalists or other people" to Nagorno-Karabakh or other territories.
Lavrov also criticized "the extradition to a third country of Russians detained abroad."
Armenia's government has also condemned Lapshin's extradition to Baku.
If Lapshin is convicted by a court in Azerbaijan,he could face up to eight years in prison there.
Source: tert.am