Armenian Ombudsman treats extradition of Alexander Lapshin to Baku as threat to freedom of speech

Armenian Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan and the Public Council of Armenia have called on the Belarusian authorities to prevent extradition of blogger Alexander Lapshin to the Azerbaijani authorities.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan has requested the extradition of Alexander Lapshin from Minsk to Baku. The Azerbaijani side has accused the blogger of an illegal visit to Nagorno-Karabakh and dissemination of statements about its independence.

On January 18, Armenian Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan declared a serious threat in terms of freedom of speech and human rights in case if Belarus extradites blogger Alexander Lapshin to Azerbaijan.

At a press conference held in Yerevan on January 18, which was also attended by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, Arman Tatoyan has claimed that the charges filed against Alexander Lapshin contradict the decisional law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the OSCE standards.

The Armenian Ombudsman believes that visits to Nagorno-Karabakh of neutral persons like Alexander Lapshin are very important in terms of coverage of the real situation in the region.

Besides, the Public Council of Armenia has addressed an open letter to Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus, with an appeal to adhere to his general balanced policy, take into account the international principles and refuse to make a decision on extradition of Alexander Lapshin to Azerbaijan.

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