Blogger Lapshin challenges judgement of Baku court to extend his arrest

The blogger Alexander Lapshin, extradited from Belarus to Azerbaijan, has filed an appeal complaint against the decision of the court in Baku to extend his arrest by three months.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in December 2016 Alexander Lapshin was detained in Belarus at the request of Azerbaijan, which had put him on the black list. On February 7, Lapshin was extradited from Minsk to Baku and placed into the SIZO (pre-trial prison). On March 7, the Nasimi District Court of Baku ruled to extend the blogger’s arrest until July 15.

Alexander Lapshin, a citizen of Russia, Ukraine and Israel, is accused by Azerbaijan of visiting the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), which is treated by Azerbaijan, as its occupied territory, and of public statements in support of the NKR’s independence. He faces up to eight years in prison.

The fact of Alexander Lapshin’s appealing against the extension of his arrest was reported by his advocate Eduard Chernin, who added that the complaint would be considered within the next 10-15 days, the RIA “Novosti” reports.

Edward Chernin also said that during his meeting with his client, he asked about the custody conditions. Mr Lapshin noted that he had no complaints, the “Trend” quotes the advocate as saying.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.