Russia continues to take all legal actions to protect blogger Alexander Lapshin, who was handed over to Azerbaijan by Belarus, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, TASS reports.
Peskov reminded that Lapshin holds several citizenships, including that of Russia. “Therefore, we treat him as our national,” he said.
“We continue to legally protect his interests. We are not holding negotiations, but taking all legal measures to defend his interests,” Peskov noted.
Alexander Lapshin, who holds Russian, Israeli and Ukrainian citizenship, was handed over to Baku on February 7 and escorted out of the airport by law enforcement agents.
On December 15, 2016, police in Belarus detained Alexander Lapshin, a popular travel blogger, for his prior visits to Nagorno Karabakh and for his criticism of the Aliyev regime.
On 20 January 2017 the General Prosecutor’s Office of Belarus decided to have Lapshin extradited to Azerbaijan. An appeal to the ruling was denied by Minsk City Court.
The Supreme Court of Belarus ruled to leave the decision of the Prosecutor General’s office on Lapshin’s extradition to Azerbaijan in force.
