Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 2
By Samir Ali – Trend:
Officials of Russian and Israeli embassies in Baku have appealed to the relevant bodies for another meeting with blogger Alexander Lapshin, who is under arrest in Azerbaijan, Lapshin’s lawyer Eduard Chernin told Trend Mar. 2.
Officials of the Russian Embassy in Baku met Lapshin once, while officials of the Israeli Embassy in Baku met him twice following the blogger’s extradition to Azerbaijan, Chernin said.
The allegations that representatives of the embassies cannot meet Lapshin are unfounded, Chernin noted.
“In accordance with the rules of organizing meetings, in order to meet Lapshin, one should appeal to the relevant official bodies,” the lawyer said. “After receiving the response to the appeal, the time for the meeting is appointed.”
The lawyer noted that Lapshin has no complaints regarding detention conditions and he can meet his family members.
“Armenian media reported that allegedly Lapshin’s spouse couldn’t talk to him and received no information about him,” the lawyer noted. “I told this to Alexander Lapshin, told him what his wife Yekaterina said, and then got in touch with her. She said she wanted to come to Baku to meet her husband.”
The lawyer also said that Lapshin’s mother Bella Lapshina is in Baku, and she can see her son anytime she wants.
Currently, Lapshin is under custody in Baku Investigative Prison No. 1 (Kurdakhani Pre-trial Detention Center) of the Penitentiary Service of Azerbaijan’s Justice Ministry, and his defense is being provided by lawyer Eduard Chernin, who was appointed by Lapshin’s family.
Alexander Lapshin is a citizen of several countries and has had a criminal conspiracy with Armenians living in the occupied Azerbaijani territories. He also illegally visited these territories.
Lapshin is accused of violating Azerbaijani laws on state border in April 2011 and October 2012.
On Jan. 17, Alexei Stuk, deputy prosecutor general of Belarus, issued a ruling on Lapshin’s extradition to Azerbaijan. Lapshin was brought to Azerbaijan on Feb. 7.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.