The Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists of the Council of Europe today released a statement issuing Level 1 alert over the trial of Israeli-Russian Blogger Aleksandr Lapshin in Azerbaijan.
The statement notes that Aleksandr Lapshin was detained in Minsk, Belarus, on 15 December 2016, at the request from Azerbaijan and extradited to Baku on 7 February 2017.
“Lapshin faces a maximum sentence of eight years in prison on charges of illegally crossing Azerbaijan’s state borders during his April 2011, October 2012, and June 2016 visits to Nagorno-Karabakh, and for making “anti-state calls to the public” and criticizing Azerbaijani policies,” reads the statement.
It is noted that currently Alexander Lapshin is in the Kurdakhani Pre-trial Detention Centre of the Baku Investigative Prison Nr 1.