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YEREVAN, JANUARY 30, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian National Committee held simultaneous protests in front of Belarus’ diplomatic missions in Washington, DC and New York City demanding the immediate and unconditional release of the Russian-Israeli blogger Alexandr Lapshin, reports “Armenpress”.
The gathered voiced their discontent and outrage over Azerbaijan’s continuous assault against free media and journalists over the past several years, with Mr. Lapshin being the latest victim.
“We condemn in the strongest terms any attempt to silence or intimidate journalists and individuals who travel to the free and independent Republic of Nagorno Karabakh. Azerbaijan and Belarus are two of Europe’s last remaining dictatorships and for us it is absolutely unacceptable to silence journalists for speaking up about human rights offences or for expressing their support for the free and democratic Republic of Nagorno Karabakh. We also call upon the United States government to take a strong stance on this issue in solidarity with the people of Nagorno Karabakh Republic, our democratic and reliable ally in the region”, ANCA Eastern Region Chairman Steve Mesrobian said.
Belarus police arrested Lapshin on December 15, 2016 in Minsk. Lapshin resides in Moscow and writes for the famous Russian Travel Blog. He is wanted by Azerbaijan for visiting Nagorno Karabakh in 2011, 2012 and 2016, and criticizing Azerbaijan’s policy in his blog. Official Baku demands extradition of Lapshin from the Belarussian leadership.
The Deputy Prosecutor General of Belarus made a decision to uphold the request of Azerbaijan’s General Prosecutor on extraditing Citizen of Russia and Israel Alexander Lapshin, who is wanted for violating Articles 281.2 and 318.2 of Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code.
Although Lapshin appealed the Belarussian Prosecution’s decision, his claim was rejected.