Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order on 11 September pardoning blogger Aleksandr Lapshin, who was imprisoned for for visiting Nagorno-Karabakh.
The decision was posted on the official presidential administration website.
Russian news agency Interfax quoted presidential aide Ali Hasanov as saying that Lapshin tried to commit suicide the previous day; this has yet to be confirmed.
Azerbaijani news outlet APA quoted Hasanov as saying that Lapshin will be sent to Israel in the near future.
Lapshin, a citizen of Israel, Russia, and Ukraine, was arrested in the Belarusian capital of Minsk in December, after being put on an Interpol list on Azerbaijan’s request for ‘entering the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and supporting separatism in public speeches’. He was extradited to Azerbaijan in February.
On 20 July, Baku City Court sentenced him to three years in prison. He apologised to the court for his visit, but still pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution claims Lapshin labelled Nagorno-Karabakh an ‘independent state’ in his publications, and used ‘separatist terminology’ such as Artsakh and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic to describe it.
International rights groups, including the Amnesty International, previously called on the authorities to release him.
Under Azerbaijani law, it is illegal to cross into Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia; it is impossible to do so from the Azerbaijani side.
For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.
Azerbaijani authorities are blacklisting Anthony Bourdain, an American chef and CNN host for visiting Nagorno-Karabakh.
Bourdain visited the region last week to shoot an episode for CNN’s travel and food show ‘Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown’, according to Armenian news outlet Massis Post.
Under Azerbaijani law, it’s illegal to cross into Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia and it’s impossible to do so from Azerbaijan, which considers Nagorno-Karabakh as its legal part.
On 20 October, Bourdai
Baku City Court has sentenced blogger Aleksandr Lapshin to three years in prison for visiting Nagorno-Karabakh.
He was convicted on charges of violating Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, however, the court dropped charges of openly anti-state speech.
According to the Caucasian Knot, Lapshin apologised to the court for his visit, but still pleaded not guilty, saying that his visit to the region did not have any political motives, adding that he considers Nagorno-Karabakh to be Azerbaijan
The trial of blogger Aleksandr Lapshin for visiting Nagorno-Karabakh has kicked off in Baku. Lapshin, a citizen of Russia, Ukraine, and Israel, was detained in Belarus on Azerbaijan’s request charged with ‘illegally crossing the border of Azerbaijan’ and ‘supporting separatism in public speeches’; he faces 8 years in prison if convicted.
According to the Caucasian Knot, the Prosecutor’s Office called two witness against Lapshin at a court hearing on 3 July. Eyyub Abdulazimov and Fakhraddin
Amnesty International has called on the authorities of Azerbaijan to immediately release popular blogger Aleksandr Lapshin. In a statement released by the rights group on 10 February, they claim that he faces ‘torture’ and an ‘unfair trial’, and has been refused permission to contact his wife.
Lapshin, a citizen of Israel, Russia, and Ukraine, was arrested in the Belarusian capital of Minsk on 13 December. He was wanted by Interpol upon Azerbaijan’s request accused of entering Nagorno-Kar
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order on 11 September pardoning blogger Aleksandr Lapshin, who was imprisoned for for visiting Nagorno-Karabakh.
