Blogger extradited to Baku should be released immediately: Amnesty

PanARMENIAN.Net - Amnesty International in a statement has condemned the extradition of Russian Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin from Belarus to Azerbaijan.

Upon transfer to Baku on February 7, Lapshin was taken immediately into custody. In Azerbaijan, he is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment as well as an unfair trial. The criminal proceedings against Lapshin should be terminated, and he should be released immediately, Amnesty said.

Lapshin is a popular blogger, and a citizen of Russia, Israel and Ukraine. He was arrested on December 15, 2016 in Belarus, on request from Azerbaijan. Criminal proceedings were initiated by the Azerbaijani authorities against him under Articles 281.2 and 318.2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan (“public appeals against the state”, punishable by up to eight years of imprisonment and “illegal border crossing” punishable by up to five years of imprisonment, respectively).

Lapshin’s extradition order was issued on January 17 and on January 26 his appeal was rejected by the Minsk City Court. He was extradited only hours after his appeal to the Supreme Court of Belarus was considered and rejected on February 7.

The accusations against him relate to his repeated visits to Nagorno Karabakh, in 2011 and 2012, and for his critical online publications about Azerbaijan.

Amnesty said it is not aware of any other cases of extradition requests being made by the Azerbaijani authorities against individuals who have entered Karabakh without their permission. However, there are numerous individuals who have visited the territory without permission from the Azerbaijani authorities and been “blacklisted” by Azerbaijan - put on an official list of offenders who will be permanently refused entry to Azerbaijan.

"Amnesty International takes the view that the extradition and charges against Lapshin are a means of targeting him principally in connection with his blogs, in particular his criticism of the Azerbaijani border control system and the country’s social inequality. The charge of “public appeals against the state” has no legal basis, as the criticism of the Azerbaijani authorities in his blog falls entirely within the scope of his right to freedom of expression. With regard to the criminal charge of illegal border crossing, the organization maintains that irregular entry should not be treated as a criminal offence. As such, Amnesty International considers that his detention is arbitrary and calls for the criminal proceedings against Aleksandr Lapshin to be terminated. He should be released immediately," Amnesty said.