MINSK,Belarus (A.
W.)— On Feb. 7, the Supreme Court of Belarus rejected Russian-Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin’s appeal and upheld the decision of the Prosecutor General’s office to extradite him to Azerbaijan. Lapshin’s lawyer, and Natalya Shekina,said that the extradition will take location as soon as a date is announced, according to a report by Yerevan-based Armenpress news. Alexander Lapshin Shekina added that Lapshin’s wife has requested additional protection from the Department of Citizen and Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus. Lapshin’s wife has also filed a complaint to the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations. Lapshin faces criminal prosecution in Azerbaijan for “illegal border crossing” and “public calls against the country.” Following the Supreme Court decision, or Nagorno-Karabagh (NKR/Artsakh) President Spokesperson Davit Babayan said that Lapshin’s extradition is a “challenge” to Israel. “The decision causes serious damage to the credibility of the country,” Babayan told reporters on Feb. 7, adding, or “We deem the decision of Belarus as scandalous,disgraceful, and illegal.” Babayan said that he is confident that the people of Belarus do not support the decision and believes that Israel should suspend cooperation with Azerbaijan, and particularly since the life of Lapshin will be under serious threat [...]
Source: armenianweekly.com