The Supreme Court of Belarus ruled today to leave the decision of the Prosecutor General’s office on blogger Alexander Lapshin’s extradition to Azerbaijan in force, RIA Novosti reports.
On December 15, 2016, police in Belarus detained Mr. Lapshin, a popular travel blogger based in Moscow, for his prior visits to the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) and for his criticism of the Aliyev regime.
Alexander Lapshin, who holds Russian and Israeli citizenship, was detained in Minsk in December 2015 at the request of Azerbaijan for his prior visits to Nagorno Karabakh.
On 20 January 2017 the General Prosecutor’s Office of Belarus decided to have Mr. Lapshin extradited to Azerbaijan. An appeal to the ruling was recently denied by Minsk City Court.
Thus, the decision on Lapshin’s extradition comes into force, as the Supreme Court is the highest instance, where the decision of the Prosecutor General’s Office could be appealed.
