Ara Zohrabyan: We should support and protect Lapshin
Chairman of the Chamber of Advocates Ara Zohrabyan has commented on the criminal case against blogger Alexander Lapshin. "Deputy General Prosecutor of the Republic of Belarus has decided to grant the request of the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan regarding the extradition of Alexander Lapshin, a citizen of the Russian Federation and Israel, who detained on December 15 in Minsk, Belarus by the orders of Azerbaijani authorities for his visits to the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Artsakh) in 2011 and 2012. The decision can be appealed in the Minsk City Court within 10 days. The decision has not been sent to Lapshin’s lawyers yet. The working group set up by the Chamber of Advocates, is working towards the issue and is ready to provide professional support to Lapshin. Alexander Lapshin needs our support and protection. I call on my colleagues, lawyers and journalists to join efforts to protect Alexander Lapshin," Ara Zohrabyan said. According to the prosecutor’s office of Azerbaijan, a criminal case has opened against Lapshin under Articles 281.2 and 318.2 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan for ‘illegally’ crossing the Azerbaijani border and for public appeals directed against the state. The prosecutor’s office of Azerbaijan said they are taking the necessary steps to have Lapshin extradited from Belarus.
