Armenia Slams Belarus for Blogger’s Extradition Alexander Lapshin

[onjig]

Armenia Slams Belarus for Blogger’s Extradition

February 8, 2017

YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — Armenia on Wednesday strongly condemned Belarus, a fellow member of two Russian-led alliances of ex-Soviet states, for arresting and extraditing to Azerbaijan a Russian-Israeli blogger who has repeatedly visited Nagorno-Karabakh.

A senior member of the governing Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) lashed out at Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and said Yerevan should seek Belarus’s expulsion from one of those blocs: the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

The blogger, Alexander Lapshin, was flown to Baku late on Tuesday immediately after Belarus’s Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling authorizing his extradition to Azerbaijan because of his trips to Karabakh. Lukashenko, who has ruled the former Soviet republic for more than two decades, predicted such a verdict late last week when he strongly defended Lapshin’s arrest in Minsk.

“The persecution of Alexander Lapshin and his extradition to Azerbaijan is a gross violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of speech and movement, which once again demonstrates the existing gap between dictatorship and democracy,” said Tigran Balayan, the Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman.

Balayan expressed confidence at the same time that the precedent set by the Belarusian authorities will not discourage more foreigners from visiting Karabakh without Baku’s permission. “It is beyond doubt that the flow of political and public figures, artists, journalists and tourists to Artsakh will not stop but will multiply,” he said in a statement.

Read more:

https://massispost.com/2017/02/armenia-slams-belarus-bloggers-extradition/

 

https://massispost.c...loggers-arrest/

Edited February 12, 2017 by onjig

[onjig]

Belarus extradited Alexander Lapshin as per an agreement made during made as part of the Soviet. There is no Soviet~Belarus President seems to be a bit of a snake!

[Yervant1]

Toons Mag

Feb 12, 2017

Dis-Honor Among Thieves
Cartoon by Lucine Kasbarian, from Armenia

http://www.toonsmag.com/2017/02/dis-honor-among-thieves.html#.WKCwjJ7EECI.facebook

[MosJan]

[onjig]

The hreya has not been very forthcoming has he~

[Yervant1]

You can visit the Moon, but not Nagorno-Karabakh: the mind-boggling politics of Azerbaijan’s Aliyev administration – Huffingtonpost

http://www.groong.com/news/attachments/msg595053/pngVuoCpFnS5C.png

17:55, 23 February, 2017

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23, ARMENPRESS. The American Huffingtonpost has published an article referring to the violations of freedom of movement by Azerbaijan and declaring manhunt against blogger Alexander Lapshin.

“Armenpress” reports in the article headlined “You can visit the Moon, but not Nagorno-Karabakh: the mind-boggling politics of Azerbaijan’s Aliyev administration” introduces the background of Nagorno Karabakh conflict and how another dictator, Joseph Stalin, forcefully encompassed Artsakh, with 95% Armenian population, into Azerbaijani SSR in 1921, setting the grounds for the contemporary conflict. The article also refers to the violations of the dictatorial regime of Aliyev’s clan.

“Among other ploys, Baku has continued to insist that any foreigner who visits NKR has actually illegally trespassed onto Azeri lands. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan has declared 683 of these unfortunates as personae non grata. When you consider that over 25,000 tourists have actually visited NKR in the last two years alone, you realize how incomplete the list is and how absurd Baku’s persecution of Aleksander Lapshin. Of course, Azeri officials can only blacklist those people whose names come to them through print and social media or other public avenues. The US astronaut Charles Duke, the Spanish opera star Montserrat Caballe and France’s incumbent Minister of the Interior Bruno Le Roux all figure prominently on this list. Duke was the 10th human being to walk on the moon aboard Apollo 16, but after visiting NKR, he may never set foot in Azerbaijan—assuming he’d ever want to”, writes the article.

Lapshin is a traveler-journalist who has visited 120 countries. In late 2016 he visited Belarus – a decision for which he must have regretted. He was extradited to Azerbaijan on February 7, 2017.

“Not surprisingly, both Aliyev and Belarussian President Aleksander Lukashenko are on Reporters Without Borders’ Predators of Press Freedom list. Lukashenko originally cited Lapshin’s supposed presence on Interpol’s database as grounds for his decision to detain him. Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France deny its participation in the blogger’s arrest… not surprisingly perhaps, strange happenings have occurred on Lapshin’s Live Journal blog since he arrived in Baku: his posts about NKR have disappeared and Nagorno-Karabakh has been removed from the list of countries that he has visited. According to the CPJ, some 259 journalists worldwide currently languish in jail, six in Azerbaijan alone, a remarkable number for the small country of seven million on the Caspian. Reaction around the world in defense of Lapshin has been swift. And in a possibly related answer to Azeri tactics, Russia recently detained 200 Azeri citizens in a sports hall in Dagestan, citing territorial violations as the reason for their actions”, reads the article.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/you-can-visit-the-moon-but-not-nagorno-karabakh-the_us_58adebc1e4b0d0d07e7c6668

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/880030/you-can-visit-the-moon-but-not-nagorno-karabakh-the-mind-boggling-politics-of-azerbaijan’s-aliyev.htm

[MosJan]

[Yervant1]

Asbarez.com Did Lapshin Curtsey to King Aliyev?

 

http://asbarez.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/lapshinnew.jpg

Russian-Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin being detained earlier this year.

BY ARA KHACHATOURIAN

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s abrupt pardon of Russian-Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin, who was serving a three year sentence in a Baku prison for visiting Artsakh, was a surprise to those who have been following this case when Lapshin was unceremoniously extradited to Azerbaijan by Belarus authorities late last year.

Lapshin’s pardon also was peppered with news that he attempted suicide at the prison a day before Aliyev’s announcement. This was followed up with reports that he was under medical care following the attempt.

It seems, however, that a day after the reported suicide attempt Lapshin was well enough to pen a letter praising Aliyev, Azerbaijan and offering a rare mea culpa for someone who had unequivocally admonished the Aliyev regime for its abysmal human rights record.

However, it wasn’t his criticism of the Baku regime that landed him in jail, as those charges were dropped. It was his visits to Artsakh and his generally positive coverage of that country in his travel blog that compelled the court to sentence him to three years in jail.

In a letter published by the Azerbaijani press, on September 11, the day of Aliyev’s pardon, Lapshin penned a letter, in which he expresses his regret “for the things I have done. I did not have knowledge of the issues happening in the region and neighborhood regions during my visit to the Nagorno-Karabakh.”

Below is Lapshin’s letter as was reported by the Baku-based news.az.

I was sentenced to 3 years in prison by the Baku Court of Grave Crimes on 20 July, 2017. I was charged under the Article 318.2 (illegal crossing border of the Republic of Azerbaijan) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The charge against me under Article 281.2 of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code (public appeals against the state) was dropped due to a lack of evidence.

“Today I learnt that the decree was signed to pardon me. I am very grateful to you. I guess I have never waited for anything like this in my entire life!

“I regret for the things I have done. I did not have knowledge of the issues happening in the region and neighborhood regions during my visit to the Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Now, I acquired indisputable facts that Karabakh is a land of Azerbaijan and I realized that sooner or later Karabakh will be Azerbaijan. Hope, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be solved within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

“I want to express one more time my deep regret regarding the irresponsible behaviors of mine. I am very grateful for your kind understanding and compassion.

“I wish to you, your family and Azerbaijani people health, longevity and prosperity. I do believe that Armenian-occupied Azerbaijani territories will be liberated.

The fact that Lapshin’s letter stinks of Azerbaijan’s talking point on the Karabakh conflict down to the detail of his alleged wish for liberation of “Armenian-occupied Azerbaijani territories,” signals that he was forced to sign this letter as a condition for his release.

Time will tell what Lapshin will do following his stint in an Azerbaijani prison, which was widely criticized by the Armenia, Russia and international watchdog groups such as Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders. But one hopes that Lapshin will continue his chronicles and will one day visit Artsakh again for the sake of freedom of speech and the press.

He may have had to curtsey to King Aliyev to get the hell outta dodge, but his future actions will determine whether the outcry over quashing fundamental freedoms yielded a beneficial outcome or was in vain.

http://asbarez.com/166449/did-lapshin-curtsey-to-king-aliyev/

[MosJan]

Լապշին․ Հայեր, այդ մարդիկ ձեզ ուզում են մեռած տեսնել՝ ու վերջ
Լապշին․ Հայեր, այդ մարդիկ ձեզ ուզում են մեռած տեսնել՝ ու վերջ
15 սեպտեմբերի 2017 - 21:03 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ադրբեջանական բանտից ազատված բլոգեր ու ճանապարհորդ Ալեքսանդր Լապշինն, ով Բաքվում գտնվելու ժամանակ ճնշման տակ ներողություններ ու Ղարաբաղը ադրբեջանական տարածք ճանաչող պնդումներ պարունակող նամակ էր գրել երկրի նախագահ Իլհամ Ալիևի անունով, ազատվելուց կարճ ժամանակ անց անդրադարձել է արցախյան հիմնահարցին։

«Ամոթ է խոստովանել, բայց մինչ ադրբեջանական բանտում հայտնվելը ես ազնվորեն կարծում էի, որ ղարաբաղյան հարցը վիճելի է ու պիտի լուծվի Ադրբեջանի սահմանները հարգելով։ Ինչ ապուշն էի ես։ Ադրբեջանը դեռ 1988-ին սկսեց ահաբեկել հայերին Սումգաիթում, Բաքվում, Ղարաբաղում՝ նացիստական «juden frei» (հրեաներից մաքրած) սխեմայով, սակայն ոչ թե հրեաների, այլ հայերի հանդեպ կիրառմամբ։ Այնուամենայնիվ, հրեաների 95 տոկոսը փախավ Ադրբեջանից նույն ժամանակ, փորձանքից հեռու՝ կավարտեն հայերի հետ, կսկսեն ազատվել հրեաներից։ Գենետիկ հիշողություն է։ Իսկ այսօր հրեաներին Ադրբեջանում շատ սիրում են՝ իհարկե, որովհետև այնտեղ հրեաներ չկան, մի քանի հազար, նախկին մոտ 100 հազարից», - նշել է նա։

Լապշինը հատուկ ընդգծել է, որ մեղադրական եզրակացությունում նշվում էր, թե նա Ղարաբաղն Արցախ է անվանել։ «Օրուցերեկ հանդուրժողականությունից խոսացող Ադրբեջանը Ղարաբաղի հայկական անունն ապօրինի է համարում։ Այսինքն, հայերենն օրենքից դուրս է, հայերենով խոսել հայերին չի կարելի, սեփական կրոն ունենալ չի կարելի ու ընդհանրապես, ըսկ քննիչ Թալիբովի, «ցեղասպանություն չի եղել՝ եթե թուրքերը մորթեին նրանց, քիչ գլխացավ կունենայինք»։

«Հայեր, պինդ կացեք։ Այս մարդիկ ձեզ ուզում են տեսնել մեռած՝ ու վերջ։ Ու եթե Հայաստանի թուլացման կամ բանակցությունների հետևանքով դուք Ղարաբաղը կորցնեք, իմացեք՝ նրանք կգան ձեզ մորթելու», - եզրափակել է նա։

Կարդացեք նաև․ Ալեքսանդր Լապշին․ Ինչպես էին ինձ սպանում Բաքվի բանտում

http://panarmenian.net/arm/news/246583

[MosJan]

Ալեքսանդր Լապշին․ Ինչպես էին ինձ սպանում Բաքվի բանտում
Ալեքսանդր Լապշին․ Ինչպես էին ինձ սպանում Բաքվի բանտում
15 սեպտեմբերի 2017 - 18:29 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ադրբեջանական բանտից ազատված բլոգեր ու ճանապարհորդ Ալեքսանդր Լապշինն առաջին անգամ մեկնաբանել է Բաքվի բանտում անցկարված ժամանակը։

Իր բլոգում կատարված գրառման մեջ նա նախ նշել է, որ ժխտում է «պաշտոնական սուտը» իբր իր ձեռնարկած ինքնասպանության փորձի մասին։

«Իբր նախագահ Ալիևը հումանիզմ է դրսևորել ու ներում շնորհել խեղճուկրակ ինքնասպանին՝ ինքնասպանության փորձից մի օր ուշ», - գրել է նա։

Իրականում, ըստ Լապշինի, սեպտեմբերի լույս 11-ի գիշերն իր խուց են մտել մի քանի մարդ, ովքեր մի քանի հարվածել են իրեն։

«Մնացածը չեմ հիշում։ Մյուս հուշերս արդեն Բաքվի կենտրոնական պոլիկլինիկայից են, որտեղ պառկած էի՝ թթվածնի դիմակով ու միացրած սարքերի։ Կոտրել են 2 ատամս, մեջքս ու կողերս էլ հեմատոմաների մեջ են», - գրել է նա։

Բլոգերը ենթարդել է, որ իր սպանությունը ձեռնտու կլիներ Ալիևի շրջապատում բազմաթիվ մարդկանց, ովքեր կարծում են, թե Ադրբեջանի նախագահի գնալու ժամանակն է։ Իսրայելցի բժիշկները ևս հաստատել են, որ նրան ֆիզիկական բռնության են ենթարկել, ու վնասվածքներն ապացուցում են, որ Լապշինին փորձել են խեղդել ևսպանել։

«Ինչ իմաստ կար ինքնասպան լինելու մորս ծննդյան օրը՝ արտահանձման բանակցությունների վերջնական փուլում», - շեշտել է նա։

2016-ի դեկտեմբերին բլոգեր Ալեքսանդր Լապշինին ձերբակալել են Մինսկում Ադրբեջանի հարցումով, որտեղ նա ընդգրկված է «սև ցուցակում» ԼՂՀ այցելելու համար: ԼՂՀ այցելած անձանց համար մուտքն Ադրբեջան արգելված է: Այնուամենայնիվ, 2015-ի հունիսին Լապշինը մուտք է գործել Ադրբեջան Վրաստանի տարածքից ուկրաինական անձնագրով: Նրան հաջողվել է անցնել սահմանային հսկողությունը և հայտնվել Բաքվում, քանի որ ուկրաինական անձնագրում Ալեքսանդր անունը գրված էր «Օլեքսանդր»: Դրանից հետո Ադրբեջանը բլոգերի միջազգային հետախուզոմ էր հայտարարել «Պետական սահմանի մասին» օրենքը և երկրի միգրացիոն օրենսդրությունը խախտելու համար: ՌԴ ԱԳՆ-ն հայտարարել է, որ ՌԴ քաղաքացու արտահանձնումը երրորդ երկիր անթույլատրելի է: ՌԴ-ն ու Իսրայելը դեմ էին բլոգերի արտահանձնմանը, սակայն դիվանագետների ջանքերն արդյունք չտվեցին և փետրվարի 7-ին նա արտահանձնվեց Բաքու:Ադրբեջանական դատարանն ապրիլի 7-ին 3 ամսով երկարաձգել է Բաքվի հարցումով Մինսկում ձերբակալված և Ադրբեջանին արտահանձնված ռուսաստանցի բլոգեր Ալեքսանդր Լապշինի կալանքը:

http://www.panarmenian.net/arm/news/246581/

[MosJan]

Իսրայելյան ԶԼՄ-ներ. Լապշինին սպառնացել են սպանել Բաքվի բանտում
Իսրայելյան ԶԼՄ-ներ. Լապշինին սպառնացել են սպանել Բաքվի բանտում
15 սեպտեմբերի 2017 - 10:52 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Բաքվից Իսրայել արտահանձնված ռուսաստանցի բլոգեր Ալեքսանդր Լապշինը, որը 7 ամիս անցկացրել է ադրբեջանական բանտում, ընկերների հետ զրույցում հերքել է այն հաղորդագրությունները, թե նա ազատվելուց առաջ ինքնասպանության փորձ է արել: Այդ մասին հայտնել է Իսրայելում հրատարակվող «Հաարեց» թերթը:

Լապշինն ասել է, որ բանտում առաջին իսկ օրվանից մյուս կալանավորները սպառանցել են սպանել իրեն:

ՌԴ և Իսրայելի քաղաքացի Ալեքսանդր Լապշինը 3 տարվա ազատազրկման էր դատապարտվել Բաքվում և ներում ստանալով Իլհամ Ալիևի կողմից, արտահանձնվել Իսրայել:

Լապշինի ինքնասպանության մասին հայտնել էին Ադրբեջանի իշխանությունները: Ըստ Ալիևի հասարակական և քաղաքական հարցերով օգնական Ալի Հասանովի, պատճառը «Իսրայելի կողմից արտահանձնման ընթացակարգերի ձգձգումն էր»:

Իսրայելյան թերթը գրում է, որ Բաքվում Իսրայելի դեսպանատունն անակնկալի էր եկել Լապշինին ներելու Ալիևի որոշումից: Իսրայելի դեսպանատանն ու ԱԳՆ-ում կարծում են, որ բլոգերին որոշել են ներում շնորհել նրա կյանքի համար մտավախություններից ելնելով, հայտնում է Newsru.co.il-ը:

[Yervant1]

PanArmenian, Armenia

Sept 15 2017

Alexander Lapshin: How I almost got killed in Baku prison

Russian-Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin has for the first time commented on his time at an Azerbaijani jail after he was sentenced to three years in prison for visiting Nagorno Karabakh.

Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev on Monday, September 12 signed a decree to pardon Lapshin.

"On the night of September 11, when I was already in the prison cell, the door pulled open. I did not even have time to stand up when some figures grabbed me by the neck and hands and punched me in the ribs. I do not remember anything afterwards. Then I remember waking up at a Baku hospital, with two broken teeth and hematomas all over my ribs," Lapshin said in his blog.

Also, the blogger categorically denied he had made a suicide attempt shortly before being released from prison.

Lapshin was sentenced by the Baku court on grave crimes on July 20, 2017 over his visit to Karabakh.

The blogger was detained in the Belarusian capital of Minsk in December 2016 at Baku’s request. He was flown to Baku on February 7 and handed over to the Azerbaijani State Security Service. Azerbaijan’s prosecutors opened criminal cases against him envisaging jail terms of between five and eight years.

http://panarmenian.net/m/eng/news/246581

[Yervant1]

EurasiaNet.org

Sept 16 2017

Newly Released Blogger Airs Grievances Against Azerbaijan

September 16, 2017 - 8:36am, by Joshua Kucera

http://www.eurasianet.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/story/Screen%20Shot%202017-09-16%20at%203.35.18%20PM.png

Blogger Alexander Lapshin's first post since being released from prison in Azerbaijan.

If Azerbaijan expected gratitude for releasing a blogger from prison early, it has miscalculated.

When Russian-Israeli travel blogger Alexander Lapshin was released after seven months in an Azerbaijani prison, his lawyer announced that Lapshin had written a letter of thanks to the country's president, Ilham Aliyev.

"Today I learned that you [Mr. President] have signed an order on my pardon. I am very thankful to you for this," said the letter, released on September 13 by Lapshin's lawyer in Azerbaijan.

Lapshin had been arrested in Belarus in December, and then extradited to Azerbaijan in February, for crossing into Nagorno Karabakh, the territory that is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but which is controlled by Armenian forces.

His time in prison, it appeared, had changed his views on the Karabakh question. "Now I am fully convinced that Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijani territory. I hope that the Nagorno-Karabakh problem will be resolved within Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity,” the letter continued. The blogger "also wished President Ilham Aliyev strong health and long life, expressing hope for the soonest liberation of the Azerbaijani territories," news agency APA reported.

To no one's surprise, however, as soon as Lapshin was out of the country his views quickly shifted. He took to his blog and Facebook to tell his side of the story, which contradicted the Azerbaijani narrative in almost every respect.

For one, he denied Azerbaijani government statements that he had attempted suicide while in prison. Instead, he wrote, he was badly beaten, to the point that he passed out and woke up in a hospital hooked up to a catheter and an oxygen mask. He further speculates that the attack was carried out to discredit Aliyev personally, which he says corresponds to what he has been told by Azerbaijan's opposition living abroad.

He also thanked a number of people who helped him while he was in prison, none of whom was Aliyev. Instead, he expressed gratitude to the staff of the Russian and Israeli consulates in Baku, who visited him regularly. And he thanked the Red Cross, which he lauded not just for helping him but for its work "in such troubled countries as Azerbaijan, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Rwanda."

He even more strongly took back his statements about Karabakh, declaring in a Facebook post that it was without doubt Armenian territory.

“I am ashamed of admitting that before I found myself in an Azeri prison I sincerely believed that the Karabakh conflict is a very disputed one and should be resolved on the basis of respect for Azerbaijan’s borders,” he wrote. “What an idiot I was! Already in 1988 Azerbaijan began terror against Armenians in Sumgait, Baku and Karabakh.”

“Armenians, hold firm!” he concluded. “These people want to see you dead, full stop. And if you lose Karabakh as a result of negotiations or a weakening of Armenia’s position, be aware that they will come to slaughter you. Just like the Turks did 100 years ago. Their brutality already has exceeded all acceptable limits."

The post set off the mother of all social media fights between Armenians and Azerbaijanis; 20 hours after it was posted it had already gotten more than 2,900 reactions (either likes or hates), over 1,000 shares and hundreds of comments.

It's unclear how Lapshin, if he went into prison in Azerbaijan believing that the Karabakh question was "disputed," how he left it seemingly having absorbed a strongly Armenian nationalist view of the history and conflict.

What's very clear, though, is that Azerbaijan has created for itself a PR disaster entirely of its own making, and that shows no signs of going away soon. In the space of about 24 hours he's already written three blog posts and has a knack for hitting all of Azerbaijan's sore spots, claiming the country is a hotbed of Islamist extremism and anti-Semitism, on top of everything else. He's started the hashtag #azeromarazm, translating roughly to "Azeri stupidity," which a number of Armenian twitter users have adopted gleefully.

Ironically, give the anti-Semitism claims, the timing of Lapshin's release appears to be connected to a visit by Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov to Israel. Baku appeared to think the pardon would be a humane gesture to show their Israeli partners, which now seems to have badly backfired.

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/85176

[MosJan]

#azeromarazm

[Yervant1]

PanArmenian, Armenia

Sept 19 2017

Lapshin says collecting documents on violence in Azerbaijani jail

Russian-Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin, who has recently returned to Israel after being released from an Israeli prison, said that doctors' exams have confirmed that Baku's scenario of Lapshin's alleged attempted suicide are false.

Shortly after his release, Azerbaijan declared that Lapshin had attempted to commit a suicide while in the Baku jail, which the blogger denied in a Facebook post.

"I have been at Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa all day long collecting documents on violence in the Azerbaijani prison," Lapshin said in a Facebook post.

"Doctors agreed that Azerbaijan's scenario about the suicide attempt does not survive criticism, while the signs of beating are obvious."

Lapshin was sentenced by the Baku court on grave crimes on July 20, 2017 over his visit to Nagorno Karabakh.

The blogger was detained in the Belarusian capital of Minsk in December 2016 at Baku’s request. He was flown to Baku on February 7 and handed over to the Azerbaijani State Security Service. Azerbaijan’s prosecutors opened criminal cases against him envisaging jail terms of between five and eight years.

http://panarmenian.net/m/eng/news/246704

[Yervant1]

Armenpress News Agency , Armenia
September 21, 2017 Thursday


Lapshin pities Azerbaijani high ranking law enforcement officers who
appeared in stupid situation due to Azerbaijani authorities



YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Alexander Lapshin, who was arrested
in Azerbaijan, has told how the Azerbaijani law enforcement officers
interrogated him and appeared in a stupid situation, ARMENPRESS
reports Lapshin wrote about this in his personal blog.

“The best investigators of Azerbaijan were involved in my case –
Colonel Kamal Talibov (the son of the former president of Azerbaijan’s
supreme court), Colonel Vugar Nasibov, chief of investigation
department, General Illar Ahmedov and Deputy Prosecutor General Rustam
Usubov. They are the best investigators in this oil-rich country. They
spoke good Russian and made unnecessary and funny quotes from the
films “Kidnapping,Caucasian Style” or “Mimino” and did everything to
persuade me that I can be saved only if I confess that I work for the
special services of Armenia and Russia. It should be noted the
emphasized hostility towards the Russian Federation during the
investigative activities. I really could never imagine that they could
bring forward such ridiculous and unfounded accusations against the
Russian Federation”, the blogger wrote.

Lapshin stressed that the Azerbaijani authorities put those high
ranking and professional policemen in a stupid situation by forcing
them to do ridiculous and useless job.

“They asked me the same question 10 times. The problem is that the
Azerbaijani authorities put those people in a stupid situation. When
high ranking policeman Colonel Talibov came to the penitentiary
institution every day like a child and asked the same question about
my “working” for the Armenian special services we just pitied him. He
probably had understood that I have nothing to do with any special
service, but it was demanded from higher echelons to launch a
demonstrative process and he did his job”, Lapshin wrote.

[Yervant1]

Armenpress News Agency , Armenia
November 3, 2017 Friday


Lapshin exposes Azerbaijani secret plan of exchanging him with
Azerbaijani diversionists arrested in Artsakh



YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. The authorities of Azerbaijan tried
to reach an agreement with Russia in February, 2017, offering them to
exchange the citizen of that country, blogger Alexander Lapshin with
Azerbaijani diversionists Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilgam Asgarov
imprisoned in Artsakh, Stepanakert. ARMENPRESS reports blogger Lapshin
has himself exposed the attempt of the secret deal.

“I will briefly remind that according to the Azerbaijani mass media
the mentioned 2 persons were just tourists who had decided to visit
the graves of their relatives in Karabakh, which is under the control
of Armenians. They crossed the contact line in Aghdam region and
started their journey to the graves of their relatives by killing an
Armenian child.

In Stepanakert they told during a trial that the child had seen them
and they had to kill him not to be caught. Afterwards, they run across
a forest, hid, and then appeared near a village, killed there two
people who tried to catch them. The third “tourist” was killed in a
shooting with Armenians.

In brief, they were peaceful “tourists”, who had arrived from
Azerbaijan armed with Kalashnikovs”, Lapshin reminded, noting that the
Court of Artsakh has convicted them to life imprisonment.

The blogger told that after arresting him Azerbaijan tried to provoke
Russia, saying that if Russia helped them in the negotiations for the
return of those two “tourist-diversionists”, it would accelerate the
process of his own release. “In the words of a very high ranking
official of the Russian Foreign Ministry, that situation was very
embarrassing for Sergey Lavrov and Azerbaijan was dismissed with its
proposal. The Russian side could in no way understand what could link
the citizen of Russia and Israel, Lapshin, with Azerbaijani
diversionists. And what is most important, why should Armenia exchange
the murderers with me when I am not a citizen of Armenia?

Later, the authorities of Israel were also informed on the incident,
who were also severely infuriated by Azerbaijani position”, the
blogger told.

Lapshin told that he first heard about that plan during an
interrogation by Azerbaijani investigator from the Prosecutor
General's Office.

“To say that I was just amazed at the absurd acts of the country in
the hands of which I had appeared means to say nothing. I felt like an
Afghan hostage representing the Taliban, moreover, they tried to
bargain over me.

Russia, I am thankful for your principled stance. I can say the same
for Israel. I am also thankful to Armenia for it did not step back.

Lapshin assessed the act of the two diversionists who killed 3
civilians and are arrested in Artsakh as a jihadist movement.

[Yervant1]

Pan Armenian, Armenia

Nov 7 2017

http://media.pn.am/media/issue/248/535/photo/248535.jpg

November 7, 2017 - 16:43 AMT

Azeri media looking for Armenian blood in top Russian officials: Lapshin

Russian-Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin wrote in his blog that the Azerbaijani media are 'calculating' the percentage of Armenian blood that top Russian officials have.

Lapshin was sentenced by the Baku court on grave crimes on July 20 over his visit to Nagorno Karabakh.

The blogger was detained in the Belarusian capital of Minsk in December 2016 at Baku’s request. He was flown to Baku on February 7 and handed over to the Azerbaijani State Security Service. Azerbaijan’s prosecutors opened criminal cases against him envisaging jail terms of between five and eight years. He was recently extradited to Israel.

"Outraged by the fact that the Russian Federation defended my rights during an illegal detention in Baku, the authorities of Azerbaijan through their Azeri-language media have begun to throw mud at the Russian leadership," Lapshin said.

"At first, they insulted the head of the Russian foreign ministry press service Maria Zakharova and have reached the foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, calling him the "Russian Armenian Foreign Minister". And this is written in the official media, Turan News."

"It seems that anyone who has any connection with the Armenian people is already a criminal. And this is the local mass-media hammering the idea into their own citizens' heads, thereby imposing the image of the enemy. It is very reminiscent of Hitler's racial theory regarding the Jews and Slavs, isn't it? The Nazis also liked to calculate the percentage of "spoiled blood" and, at the same time, write down all the problems of the state on f the Jews," he added.

http://panarmenian.net/m/eng/news/248535

[Yervant1]

Pan Armenian, Armenia

Dec 25 2017

http://media.pn.am/media/issue/250/327/photo/250327.jpg

December 25, 2017 - 18:07 AMT

Azerbaijan helped double tourist flows to Artsakh, blogger says

Russian-Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin has wrote in his blog that his arrest in Azerbaijan helped double the number of tourists traveling to Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) in 2017.

“2017 was not an easy year for me as I was jailed in an Azerbaijani prison because of a trip I took to Artsakh. I happened to dive into the dirty affairs of the Azerbaijani clans, learn about the family squabbles of the Aliyevs, fly on the personal plane of the wife of the sultan of Baku, witness the bickering for power and oil money in this Muslim country, their racism and hatred not only towards the Armenian people because of the conflict in Artsakh, but towards foreigners as a whole," Lapshin said.

“Paradoxically, trying to intimidate the whole world, Azerbaijan, on the contrary, contributed to the fact that in 2017 Artsakh was visited by almost twice as many tourists as in the previous year.”

Also, the blogger cited the crew of Travel Blog Baltic, who traveled to Karabakh to prepare a film-trip about the country as a popular tourist destination.

The teaser unveils stunning aerial footage of the mountains of Karabakh, the hustle and bustle in the capital, Stepanakert, and the tranquil life in villages, the ever-growing economy, the many unique forms of arts and crafts.

http://panarmenian.net/m/eng/news/250327

[Yervant1]

Public Radio of Armenia

Feb 5 2018

Lithuanian, Latvian travelers visit Nagorno Karabakh, inspired by Lapshin story

15:59, 05 Feb 2018

http://www.armradio.am/en/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Karabakh-travel-620x300.jpg

Photo: Travelblog.lt

Three travelers from Lithuania and Latvia decided to go to Nagorno-Karabakh and see the place most people often hear about in the context of conflict, 15min reports.

Stanislav Gorbunov, Alexander Alimov and Ivar Utanan from Travelblog.com explored this poorly-known place for tourists and created a movie about their journey. The music was written by local composer Bagrat Terterian.

The trip was inspired by the painful history of blogger Alexander Lapshin, who visited Nagorno Karabakh in 2011 and 2012 and was later detained by Belarus authorities and sent to Baku. The blogger was sentenced to three years in prison, but has already been released.

“He is our friend, and then we got the idea – if Azerbaijan wants to harbor travelers, scare bloggers, stop them from visiting Nagorno-Karabakh, then we will show that there is nothing to fear,” Sergey Gorbunov told 15min. This determination has probably cost him and his two friends already to visit Azerbaijan. If Baku finds itself visiting Nagorno-Karabakh, visas will not be issued to your country.

Gorbunov and friends probably found their place in Azerbaijan’s “black list” but are never worried about the fact. “But I never planned to go there,” said Gorbunov.

http://www.armradio.am/en/2018/02/05/lithuanian-latvian-travelers-visit-nagorno-karabakh-inspired-by-lapshin-story/

[Yervant1]

This is funny!

ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia

February 16, 2018 Friday


Blogger Alexander Lapshin is thinking about the investment in Artsakh
economy at the expense of Azerbaijan

Yerevan February 16

Marianna Mkrtchyan. Russian-Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin thought
about investing in the economy of Artsakh at the expense of
Azerbaijan.

As it became known from the record of Lapshin himself in Facebook, he
filed a lawsuit against Azerbaijan to the European Court of Human
Rights (ECHR). "Friends here ask, they say, what will you spend money
on if you win a court in Europe against Azerbaijan? I did not even
think about it, to be honest." First we win and then we'll talk. "But
I have a counter question. Let's assume, just theoretically, that I
have judged from Azerbaijan, well, let's say 50 thousand euros. And he
bought a thousand bottles of excellent Karabakh cognac at the
Stepenakert Cognac Factory for them. Does this mean that Azerbaijan
through me invests in the economy of Karabakh, "Lapshin said.

 

[Yervant1]

 

168.am

| 10:37 | February 28 2018

Categories

Artsakh

World

 

 

 

 

 

Tourism blogger Alexander Lapshin wears t-shirt depicting Artsakh soldier

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Russian-Israeli tourism blogger Alexander Lapshin, known for his highly publicized arrest and illegal extradition from Belarus to Azerbaijan, has published a photo of himself wearing a t-shirt depicting an on-duty Artsakh soldier.

“Friends, how do you like my new t-shirt? It is very special. What do you think, the soldier of which army is depicted?” Lapshin wrote on social media.

The majority of social media users were quick to guess that the soldier is an Artsakhi serviceman, whose photo became widely known during the April War of 2016.

https://en.168.am/2018/02/28/22784.html

 

[Yervant1]

Panorama, Armenia

March 23 2018

Society 15:18 23/03/2018 Armenia

Blogger Lapshin plans to visit Armenia

Russian-Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin, who was jailed in Azerbaijan last year for visiting Artsakh, has plans to visit Armenia.

In a post on Facebook, the blogger said he intends to take part in the In Tour Expo 2018 international tourism exhibition to be held in capital city Yerevan on 20-22 April.

“I am leaving for Yerevan to attend a tourism exhibition. I shall introduce my project, “Following Lapshin’s footsteps in Baku’. The program includes a flight on [Azerbaijan’s first lady] Mehriban Aliyeva’s private plane, all inclusive rest at Kurdahan prison [a penitentiary in Azerbaijan], as well as at the Baku Court of Grave Crimes. The price of the tour is contractual,” reads the post.

“I’m kidding. In reality, I am going to speak about my travels during the expo. It will be interesting, you are welcome,” he added.

Travel blogger Alexander Lapshin, who was sentenced to three years behind bars in Azerbaijan, was released on 12 September, after being pardoned by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Lapshin was sentenced by the Baku court on grave crimes on July 20, 2017 over his visit to Nagorno-Karabakh.

The blogger was detained in the Belarusian capital of Minsk in December 2016 at Baku’s request. He was flown to Baku on February 7 and handed over to the Azerbaijani State Security Service.

Azerbaijani prosecutors launched a criminal case into “repeated public anti-state calls” and what they claimed as “illegal crossing of Azerbaijan’s state border.”

The extradition and persecution against Lapshin was widely slammed by international community as a gross violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of speech and movement.

https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2018/03/23/Blogger-visit-Armenia/1923675

[Yervant1]

ARKA, Armenia

Jan 22 2019

Russian-Israeli tourism blogger Lapshin says Azeris do not need Karabakh

http://arka.am/upload/resize_cache/iblock/915/344_258_2/915e3d2c2564251fb3fc003e45a08a14.jpg

YEREVAN, January 22. /ARKA/. A Russian-Israeli tourism blogger Alexander Lapshin spoke today about his imprisonment in Azerbaijan, the status of his case against Azerbaijan in the European Court of Human Rights and his vision of a solution to the Karabakh conflict.

Alexander Lapshin was arrested in Belarus at the request of Azerbaijani law-enforcement bodies and was extradited to Azerbaijan to serve a 3 year prison term for visiting Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) “without Azerbaijani authorization”.

A Baku court sentenced him to 3 years in prison in 2017 summer. But few months later he was pardoned by president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

"The main external enemy for them (Azerbaijani leadership) is Armenia, and I think that they don’t need Karabakh so much; I think they don’t need it at all, what they need is a frozen conflict in order to explain the terrible corruption and lawlessness to blame it on Armenia," Lapshin told a news conference in Yerevan.

He said with the colossal oil revenues the country lives much worse than Armenia. ‘One shouldn’t underestimate the Azerbaijani people, who, although they live in dictatorship, have a lot of intelligent and reasonable people who want to live in a free country. They saw what happened in Armenia last April and I think they want it to happen in their country as well,," said Lapshin.

In his opinion, a paradoxical situation is being created, which may lead to changes in the next few years, but the question is how much it will be in the interests of Armenia. "Whoever Aliyev is, he is predictable and not dangerous for Armenia and he is comfortable for Russia. Those people who will replace him are either competing clans or the opposition," said Lapshin.

According to him, the Azerbaijani society is ready for peace, but the leadership of Azerbaijan is not, because peace with Armenia will lead to the fall of the Aliyev regime, and they understand it.

"Aliyev will drag out the conflict settlement. He does not need peace, he needs an image of enemy and the retention of power at any cost," said Lapshin. -0-

http://arka.am/en/news/politics/russian_israeli_tourism_blogger_lapshin_says_azeris_do_not_need_karabakh/

[MosJan]

Aleksander Lapshin

 

 

 

I think it’s time to put an end to Azerbaijan’s widespread lie about Garegin Njda’s involvement in the “mass killings of Jews, Poles and Gypsies” in the Second World War. As a citizen of Israel and a Jew who lost many relatives in fascist concentration camps, it is unpleasant to me that some self-satisfied dictator who has never served in the army is spreading lies, with his parents and grandparents getting rid of protection Homeland in the years of the Great Patriotic and stayed in sunny Nakhichevani.
It’s no secret that Gaydar Aliev could have gone to the front as a volunteer in 1941 (for example my grandfather, Aliyev, who fought in defense of Leningrad and seriously injured), but Gaydar reasonably preferred a warmer and safer place. The love for the Homeland in this ruling Azerbaijan family is hereditary, so Ilham Aliyev also never served in the army for a day, but happily walks around Karabakh in a general uniform, wearing general clothes on his spouse.
But let's get back to the topic of the Holocaust and Garegin Njde. In Israel, in Jerusalem there is a huge museum "Yad Vashem" (Yad Vashem) in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, a.k.a. the institute of fascism crimes studies with a unique file and archives. There are millions of files, by years and months, by names, by cities and countries. Almost all the victims of the Holocaust, where and who were killed are listed. But what is important is that there is the world's largest archive of not only victims, but also murderers. Starting from the leadership of the German Reich and ending with simple sadists-police in Auschwitz. Hundreds and thousands of Nazis were persecuted by the Israeli Mossad around the world, many were caught and condemned in Europe and America, others simply destroyed, and the Minister of Conspiracy Adolf Eichman was kidnapped from Argentina (where he was hiding) and executed in Israel June 1, 1962.
Garegin Nzde is not in the archives of "Yad Vashem". Neither Israel nor the Jewish diaspora do find Garegin Nje guilty of any activity against the Jewish people. You can go to the website "Yad Vashem" (there is an English version, Russian, Spanish, German) I will give the link below and search for at least one mention about Garegin Nzde. Do not find. Israel and the Jews do not consider it an enemy of the Jewish people. There is a mass of information about tens of thousands of Nazis and Nazis helpers, you can enter in the search of Gimmler, Gebbels, or even a tiny figure like Henry Hoffman, Hitler's photographer. And find a lot of information.
Once again, there is nothing about Njda. And you understand that if Garegin Nzde was at least somehow connected to the crimes of the Nazis, the Jews would definitely not have forgotten it. But no.
It turns out that Israel and the Jews of the whole world are very naive, but Azerbaijan led by Ilham Aliyev is bringing the truth to the world about Garegin Njda's crimes against the Jewish people. This is very funny to me. But at the same time, I dislike the fact that the Caspian Fürer uses the memory of millions of Jews killed in his political games and invent something that never existed, trying to remake not only Armenian history but also Jewish.
The link to Yad Vashem's website is in the first comment below. Whoever finds at least one mention of Garegin Njda there - he will get an honorary prize from me.