Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said he is outraged and surprised by the excessive politicization of Alexander Lapshin’s case.
Lapshin violated Azerbaijan’s laws and a criminal case was initiated within the law, Mammadyarov told RIA Novosti, APA reported.
“All the time he is called a blogger. Who would be interested in the matter if he was an engineer?” said the Azerbaijani FM, adding. “Everything was done within the law. Speculations on the matter that he is a blogger do not mean his immunity from prosecution.”
Alexander Laphsin was extradited to Azerbaijan from Belarus on February 7.
Earlier, the Supreme Court of Belarus rejected the complaint filed by Lapshin’s lawyer regarding his extradition to Azerbaijan.
On Jan. 26, Alexei Stuk, deputy prosecutor general of Belarus, issued a ruling on Lapshin’s extradition to Azerbaijan. The Minsk City Court upheld this decision.
Lapshin, who holds Russian, Israeli, and Ukrainian citizenship, paid illegal visits to the occupied Azerbaijani territories in April 2011 and in October 2012, violating Azerbaijan’s laws on the state border and passports. He made statements against Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.
The Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office has opened a criminal case against him on articles 281.2 (public calls directed against the state) and 318.2 (illegal crossing border of the Azerbaijan Republic), and issued an international arrest warrant for him.
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