Azerbaijani MFA calls on not to politicize extradition of Alexander Lapshin

The process of extradition of blogger Alexander Lapshin is a purely legal issue, and attempts to politicize it are fundamentally wrong. This was stated by Khikmet Gadjiev, the spokesman of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 15, 2016, Alexander Lapshin, a citizen of three countries, including Russia, Israel, and Ukraine, was detained in Minsk. On January 20, Belarus agreed to extradite the blogger to Azerbaijan. Baku officials accuse Alexander Lapshin of visiting the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, considered by Azerbaijan as its occupied territory, as well as of public statements in support of the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh.

"Because of presence in the Alexander Lapshin's actions of signs of a crime, a criminal case was instituted against him under the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan, and he was put on the international wanted list through Interpol," announces the written comment of Khikmet Gadjiev released on February 3.

According to the diplomat, the fact that the man is a blogger or a journalist does not "give him the right to violate the law and does not grant him the status of immunity," and thus, "attempts to politicize the issue or to treat it as 'a violation of freedom of expression' is fundamentally wrong."

Let us remind you that earlier, activists and public figures of Armenia urged to avoid extradition of Alexander Lapshin. The Nagorno-Karabakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) treated the Alexander Lapshin's arrest as human rights violations.

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