9 February 2017
On Tuesday, the government of Belarus extradited the blogger Alexander Lapshin to Azerbaijan, where he is to stand trial. Lapshin’s alleged crime is that he has travelled to, and written about the unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Armenian General Benevolent Union – Europe condemns this extradition and calls upon the Presidents of the European Commission, Council and Parliament and on the EU’s High Representative to intervene urgently in Mr Lapshin’s favour.
Says Nicolas Tavitian, Director of AGBU Europe: “The question now is whether we accept that an oil dictatorship such as Azerbaijan can impose their values on the rest of Europe. We call on Mr Juncker, Mr Tusk, Ms Mogherini and Mr Tajani not to choose pipelines over human decency. They should demand Mr Lapshin’s liberation and an end to retaliation against those who travel to Karabakh”.
A WORD OF BACKGROUND
Azerbaijan is one of the worst human rights offenders in Europe. There is no independent judiciary in the country and there is reason to fear for the welfare and safety of Alexander Lapshin once he is jailed there. Lapshin’s extradition occurred the day after a visit to Brussels by President Aliyev of Azerbaijan. The visit was criticized in a statement signed by 76 human rights organizations.
Lapshin’s arrest demonstrates the lengths to which Azerbaijani authorities will go to enforce the blockade of the population of the non-recognized territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan retaliates against anyone who engages with the territory. On February 8, Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Ali Ahmadov thus brazenly declared that “the extradition of Lapshin […] shows the political determination and the ability of Azerbaijan to take even the most daring measures to protect its national interests”.
Azerbaijan has so far successfully prevented the European institutions from ever sending a delegation or providing assistance to the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. Karabakh is the only place in Europe and in its neighbourhood to be subjected to such a boycott. AGBU is campaigning for the EU to engage with this territory, in line with the policy of “Engagement without Recognition” applied in Northern Cyprus, Abkhazia and Transdnistria. The European Parliament has already repeatedly called on the Commission to do so.
