Belarus to extradite Russian blogger to Azerbaijan
RFE/RL
20 January 2017, 21:16
Belarusian prosecutors have ruled to extradite Russian-Israeli blogger Aleksandr Lapshin to Azerbaijan, where he is accused of separatism.
A spokesman for the Prosecutor-General's Office, Pyotar Kisyalyou, announced the ruling to RFE/RL on January 20.
He did not provide any further details.
But other sources at the Prosecutor-General's Office said deputy state prosecutor Alyaksey Stuk had signed the extradition order on January 17.
Lapshin, who lives in Moscow and writes a Russian-language travel blog, was detained in Minsk in mid-December on an extradition request from Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijani prosecutors accuse him of illegally visiting Nagorno-Karabakh region and calling for the recognition of the breakaway region's independence from Azerbaijan.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Minsk to "unconditionally" release Lapshin.
If extradited, tried, and convicted, he faces up to eight years in prison.
20 January 2017, 21:16
Russian-Israeli blogger Aleksandr Lapshin (file photo)
A spokesman for the Prosecutor-General's Office, Pyotar Kisyalyou, announced the ruling to RFE/RL on January 20.
He did not provide any further details.
But other sources at the Prosecutor-General's Office said deputy state prosecutor Alyaksey Stuk had signed the extradition order on January 17.
Lapshin, who lives in Moscow and writes a Russian-language travel blog, was detained in Minsk in mid-December on an extradition request from Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijani prosecutors accuse him of illegally visiting Nagorno-Karabakh region and calling for the recognition of the breakaway region's independence from Azerbaijan.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Minsk to "unconditionally" release Lapshin.
If extradited, tried, and convicted, he faces up to eight years in prison.
