Armenian prosecutor's advisor confirms blogger's release after detention

Armenia's Prosecutor General's advisor Lusine Martirosyan has written that blogger Alexander Lapshin was detained by Armenian police on September 21, 2024, based on a warrant issued by Belarusian law enforcement agencies.

"After reviewing the documents, the prosecutor issued an oral directive not to detain Lapshin. He is currently free," she wrote on Facebook, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

Travel blogger and citizen of Russia and Israel, Alexander Lapshin, reported in December 2016 that he was detained in Minsk at Azerbaijan's request, as he had been placed on a "blacklist" for visiting Karabakh without Baku's approval.

Additionally, Azerbaijan accused him of promoting separatism.   A few months later, a court in Baku sentenced Lapshin to three years in prison. In July, he submitted a request for extradition to Israel, and in September 2017, he was pardoned by the president of Azerbaijan and extradited to Israel.

By Naila Huseynova