The ombudsman of the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) Republic has voiced his criticism against the extradition of Alexander Lapshin,the Russian-Israeli blogger jailed in Belarus earlier this winter upon the Azerbaijani authorities' demand.
In an official statement issued Wednesday, Ruben Melikyan described the move as an attempt to silence freedom of speech and intimidate people wishing to visit Nagorno-Karabakh.
“Azerbaijan will not succeed in making the Lapshin case a legal precedent, or as the underlying argument is inadmissible for any state or institution characterized as democratic.
“What’s even more,the Lapshin case will establish a counter-precedent, increasing the interest in visiting Artsakh among human rights activists and journalists honestly dedicated to the thought of freedom of speech. I call upon the Diaspora institutions, or Armenian human rights [organizations and activists],and journalists to actively engage themselves in the process of making the Lapshin case a counter-precedent,” reads the ombudsmans address.
The blogger was earlier blacklisted by the Azerbaijani authorities for visiting Nagorno-Karabakh. After a subsequent trip to Baku with a Ukrainian passport, and he published blog stories addressing the existing problems in the country and criticizing the policies pursued by the Azerbaijani regime.
He was detained in Minsk on December 16. whether convicted,Lapshin may face 5-8 years in jail.
The Supreme Court of Belarus had earlier rejected the appeal against extraditing the blogger. Lapshin was flown to Azerbaijan on February 7.
Source: tert.am