Blogger Aleksandr Lapshin being escorted by Azeri special forces upon his arrival in Baku on February 7
Israeli Consul Not Allowed to See Lapshin
LOS ANGELES–The extradition of a Russian-Israeli blogger by Belarus to Azerbaijan has angered governments across the region, with Russian, Armenian and Israeli officials slamming Minsk and Baku for acting against acceptable human rights norm.
On Tuesday, the Belarusian Supreme Court extradited the blogger, Aleksandre Lapshin, to Azerbaijan, which issued a warrant for his arrest after he visited the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and wrote stories in his blog.
Lapshin was immediately flown to Baku, where photos show he was escorted off the plane by Azerbaijani security forces. On Wednesday, his whereabouts were unknown and the Israeli consul in Baku was not allowed to see him.
On Wednesday, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev phoned his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko to personally thank him for the extradition and pledging further strengthening of ties with Minsk.
Meanwhile, Bahar Muradova, the deputy speaker of Azerbaijan’s legislature, the Majlis, called Lapshin’s extradition “a triumph for justice,â€
